Alternative mechanisms of gene amplification in human cancers.
Gene amplification is a common phenomenon in cancer. Cytogenetic analyses have indicated that breakage-fusion-bridge (BFB) cycles drive intrachromosomal amplification of some oncogenes in a head-to-head manner in human cancers. However, the complex structures of an amplified sequence found in cancers are not always explained by the BFB model. At the 17q21 locus, which is not linked to common fragile sites, we discovered a recombination hot spot harboring amplicon repeats in tandem in a head-to-tail orientation, with the interamplicon junctions in each cancer cell being homogeneous. These findings clearly show the presence of alternative mechanisms other than BFB cycles in oncogene amplification.
Genetics Division, National Cancer Center Research Institute, Tokyo, Japan.
Yoshitaka
Y
Kuwahara
Chikako
C
Tanabe
Tatsuro
T
Ikeuchi
Kazuhiko
K
Aoyagi
Michiko
M
Nishigaki
Hiromi
H
Sakamoto
Kiyotaka
K
Hoshinaga
Teruhiko
T
Yoshida
Hiroki
H
Sasaki
Masaaki
M
Terada
D001483:Base Sequence; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D002886:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 17 / Q000235:genetics; D017931:DNA Primers; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005784:Gene Amplification / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics
D017931:DNA Primers