Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Research Highlight
  • Published:

Genomic instability

Shattered details

Nature Reviews Cancer volume 12, pages 152–153 (2012)Cite this article

Subjects

Crasta et al. investigated micronuclei as possible sites of chromothripsis; micronuclei are formed around lagging chromosomes or chromosome fragments that result from chromosome segregation errors during mitosis. The authors induced chromosome mis-segregation and micronucleus formation in human cell lines and tracked the subsequent properties of both types of nucleus using fluorescence microscopy. They noticed a spike in the number of DNA damage foci that occurred specifically in the micronuclei after the following S phase. This damage was dependent on DNA replication, which was shown in the micronuclei to take longer and to be defective in recruiting crucial replication factors.

Cell fusion experiments have previously shown that coincident DNA replication and chromosome condensation can cause chromosome shattering. Indeed, karyotyping revealed that micronuclear-derived chromosomes were frequently shattered, indicating that replication of DNA in micronuclei might persist into M phase. Importantly, the sequestration of chromosomal DNA in micronuclei and subsequent shattering provides an elegant explanation for why chromothriptic rearrangements are focused on particular chromosomal regions.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPERS

  1. Crasta, K. et al. DNA breaks and chromosome pulverization from errors in mitosis. Nature 18 Jan 2012 (doi:10.1038/nature10802)

  2. Rausch, T. et al. Genome sequencing of pediatric medulloblastoma links catastrophic DNA rearrangements with TP53 mutations. Cell 148, 59–71 (2012)Article

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Darren J. Burgess
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Burgess, D. Shattered details. Nat Rev Cancer 12, 152–153 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrc3228

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrc3228

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing: Cancer

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Cancer newsletter — what matters in cancer research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get what matters in cancer research, free to your inbox weekly. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Cancer