Summary
Barr body staining procedures were applied directly to the chamber slide cultures of female amniotic cells, WI38 fibroblasts, normal female kidney cells, and a human breast carcinoma cell line, Elco. A high frequency of Barr bodies was found in all the normal female control cells; however, no Barr bodies were observed in the Elco cells. By trypsin G-banding analysis, two normal X chromosomes were identified in all Elco cells. The late DNA replication pattern of the cell line was then studied with the terminal BrdU pulse method. Both X chromosomes in the Elco cell line were found to be euchromatic with a characteristic R-banding pattern; no late-replicating X chromosome was observed. The absence of both a Barr body and a late-replicating heterocyclic X chromosome provides strong cytogenetic evidence that an inactivated X chromosome is absent in the human breast carcinoma cells bearing two X chromosomes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Atkins, L., Taft, P. D., Dalai, K. P.: Asynchronous DNA synthesis of set chromatin in interphase nuclei. J. Cell Biol. 15, 390–393 (1962)
Comings, D. E.: The inactive X chromosome. Lancet II, 1137–1138 (1966)
Crossen, P. E., Pathak, S., Arrighi, F. E.: A high resolution study of the DNA replication patterns of Chinese hamster chromosomes using sister chromatid differential staining technique. Chromosoma 52, 339–347 (1975)
Darlington, C. D., LaCour, L. F.: The handling of chromosomes, p. 156, London: Allen and Unwin 1960
Dutrillaux, B.: Traitements discontinus par le BrdU et coloration par l'acridine orange: obtention de marquages R.Q. et intermediares. Chromosoma 52, 261–273 (1975)
Dutrillaux, B., Laurent, C., Couturier, Y., Lejeune, Y.: Coloration des chromosomes humains par l'acridine orange apres traitment par le 5-bromodeoxyuridine. C.R. Acad. Sci. [D] (Paris) 276, 3179–3181 (1973)
Gartler, S. M., Andina, R. J.: Mammalian X-chromosome inactivation. Adv. Hum. Genet. 7, 99–140 (1976)
German, J. L.: DNA synthesis in human chromosomes. Trans. N.Y. Acad. Sci. Ser. II 24, 395–407 (1962)
Gilbert, C. W., Muldal, S., Lajtha, L. G., Rowley, J.: Time sequence of human chromosome duplication. Nature 195, 869–873 (1962)
Goto, K., Maeda, S., Kano, Y., Sugiyama, T.: Factors involved in differential Giemsa-staining of sister chromatids. Chromosoma 66, 351–359 (1978)
Jacobs, P. A., Matsuyama, A. M., Buchanan, I. M., Wilson, C.: Late-replicating X chromosomes in human triploidy. Am. J. Hum. Genet. 31, 446–457 (1979)
Kahan, B., DeMars, R.: Localized derepression on the human inactive X chromosome in mouse-human cell hybrids. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 72, 1510–1514 (1975)
Kim, M. A.: Chromatid exchange and heterochromatin alteration of human chromosome with BUdR-labeling demonstrated by benzimidazole fluorochrome and Giemsa stain. Humangenetik 25, 179–188 (1974)
Kim, M. A., Johannsmann, R., Grzeschik, K. H.: Giemsa staining of the sites replicating DNA early in human lymphocyte chromosomes. Genet. 15, 363–371 (1975)
Korenberg, Y., Freedlender, E.: Giemsa technique for detection of sister chromatid exchanges. Chromosoma 48, 355–360 (1974)
Latt, S. A.: Microfluorometric detection of deoxyribonucleic acid replication in human metaphase chromosomes. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 70, 3395–3399 (1973)
Migeon, B. R.: Stability of X chromosomal inactivation in human somatic cells. Nature 239, 87–89 (1972)
Migeon, B. R., Norum, R. A., Corsaro, C. M.: Isolation and analysis of somatic hybrids derived from two human diploid cells. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 71, 937–941 (1974)
Moore, M., Barr, M.: The sex chromatin in human malignant tissues. Br. J. Cancer 11, 384–390 (1957)
Morishima, A., Grumback, M. M., Taylor, J. H.: Asynchronous duplication of human chromosomes and the origin of sex chromatin. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 48, 756–763 (1962)
Ohno, S.: Life history of female germ cells in mammals. Proc. Sec. Int. Conf. Congenital Malformations, Natl. Foundation, 36 (1964)
Ohno, S., Klinger, H. P., Atkin, N. B.: Human oogenesis. Cytogenetics 1, 42–51 (1962)
Perry, P., Wolff, S.: New Giemsa method for the differential staining of sister chromatids. Nature New Biol. 251, 156–168 (1974)
Rajeswari, S., Ghosh, S. N., Shah, P. N., Borah, V. J.: Barr body frequency or its prognostic value and its correlation with specific oestradiol receptors. Eur. J. Cancer 13, 99–102 (1977)
Rosen, P. P., Savino, A., Menendez-Botet, C., Urban, J. A., Mike, V., Schwartz, M. K., Melamed, M. R.: Barr body distribution and estrogen receptor protein in mammary carcinoma. Ann. Clin. Lab. Sci. 7, 491–499 (1977)
Sato, K., Slesinski, R. S., Littlefield, J. W.: Chemical mutagenesis at the phosphoribosyltransferase locus in cultured human lymphoblasts. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 69, 1244–1248 (1972)
Silagi, S., Darlington, G., Bruce, S. A.: Hybridization of two biochemically marked human cell lines. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 62, 1085–1092 (1969)
Straub, D. G., Lucas, L. A., McMahon, N. J., Pellett, O. L., Teplitz, R. L.: Apparent reversal of X-condensation mechanism in tumors of the female. Cancer Res 29, 1233–1243 (1969)
Tavares, A. S.: Sex chromatin in tumor cells. Acta Cytol. (Baltimore) 6, 90–94 (1962)
Wang, H. C., Federoff, S.: Banding in human chromosomes treated with trypsin. Nature New Biol. 235, 52–54 (1972)
Zakharov, A. F., Egolina, N. A.: Correlation between patterns of DNA replication and chromosome banding. Biol. Zentralbl. 95, 27–34 (1976)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Camargo, M., Wang, N. Cytogenetic evidence for the absence of an inactivated X chromosome in a human female (XX) breast carcinoma cell line. Hum. Genet. 55, 81–85 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00329131
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00329131