Cosegregation of chromosomes containing immortal DNA strands in cells that cycle with asymmetric stem cell kinetics.
A long-standing intriguing hypothesis in cancer biology is that adult stem cells avoid mutations from DNA replication errors by a unique pattern of chromosome segregation. At each asymmetric cell division, adult stem cells have been postulated to selectively retain a set of chromosomes that contain old template DNA strands (i.e., "immortal DNA strands"). Using cultured cells that cycle with asymmetric cell kinetics, we confirmed both the existence of immortal DNA strands and the cosegregation of chromosomes that bear them. Our findings also lead us to propose a role for immortal DNA strands in tissue aging as well as cancer.
Merok
Joshua R
JR
Biological Engineering Division, Biotechnology Process Engineering Center, and Center for Environmental Health Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
Lansita
Janice A
JA
Tunstead
James R
JR
Sherley
James L
JL
D000328:Adult; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000235:genetics; D020090:Chromosome Segregation / Q000235:genetics*; D004247:DNA / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D004261:DNA Replication / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008938:Mitosis / Q000235:genetics; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure
D004247:DNA