MOLECULAR CYTOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF 5 NEWLY ESTABLISHED CERVICAL-CANCERCELL-LINES USING G-BANDING AND FLUORESCENCE IN-SITU HYBRIDIZATION

Cervical tumors nearly all have complex karyotypes and more precise cy togenetic information is required to establish whether specific rearra ngements occur, and if they are related to the type of HPV infection f ound. The karyotypes of five recently established cervical cancer cell lines, three from squamous cell carcinomas (two HPV 16 + ve and one H PV 18 + ve), one from an adenocarcinoma (HPV - ve), and one from an ad enosquamous carcinoma (HPV 16 + ve), have been analysed using fluoresc ence in situ hybridization (FISH), with 23 chromosome specific points, YACs and cosmids as probes, in addition to conventional G banding, in order to identify markers and clarify the breakpoints. Chromosomes 1 and 3 were arranged in all cell lines. Breakpoints in the squamous lin es were all in 3q, but in different regions. Small metacentrics involv ing chromosome 5 were a del(5q) in one line, and a t(X;5) in another, rather than i(5p). The region 6q21 was involved in three cases and chr omosome 9 was rearranged in four. An i(8q) was found in three squamous carcinoma cell lines. Structural changes of 11q were found only in tw o cases, but a marker 11 representing amplification in the 11q14-22 re gion was duplicated in the adenosquamous line. (C) Elsevier Science In c., 1996