title: Preferential sensitivity of acrocentric chromosomes to the aneugenic effect of colchicine.
abstract: In order to evaluate the predisposition to the aneuploidy-inducing agent colchicine (Col) on lymphocytes from trisomic 21 patients compared with their parents and with a control group of subjects without trisomic children, we performed the micronucleus (MN) assay associated with C-banding, CREST staining, and nucleolar organizing region (NOR)-banding. According to our results Col behaves as an aneugenic agent independently of the population studied for CREST and C-banding. The Col-induced MN exhibited a clear majority (> 80%) of positive NOR-MN, meaning that they contain a NOR region transcriptionally active or inactive. The same data were observed in trisomic 21 individuals, their parents, and the control group, without significant differences between them. These results seem to suggest a preferential effect of the aneugen Col on acrocentric chromosomes in all of the three groups studied.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Faculty of Medical Sciences, New University of Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Caria
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chaveca
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rueff
mesh_terms: D000782:Aneuploidy; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002871:Chromosome Banding; D002891:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 21 / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics*; D003078:Colchicine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006074:Gout Suppressants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D048629:Micronuclei, Chromosome-Defective / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D015162:Micronucleus Tests / Q000379:methods; D009697:Nucleolus Organizer Region / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D006074:Gout Suppressants; D003078:Colchicine