EXAGGERATED PRECOCIOUS CENTROMERE SEPARATION IN CELLS OF A HUMAN BREAST-CANCER LINE TREATED WITH A GREEN TEA EXTRACT

In a breast cancer cell line, MDA-MB-468, established in our laborator y, an average of 3% of the mitotic cells exhibited a phenomenon known as centromere splaying, which is a characteristic feature of cells of patients with Roberts syndrome. However, centromere splaying in cells of Roberts syndrome patients is limited to i) the centromere region an d ii) chromosomes with large amounts of heterochromatin. When the brea st cancer cells were treated with an extract of green tea GTE-TP91, up to 45% of the metaphases were observed to exhibit this behavior; and the precocious centromere separation was highly exaggerated, affecting all chromosomes in such metaphases. Apparently, as the sister centrom eres continued to pull apart, they carried the chromatids with them, e xcept for the telomere regions, giving a ringlike configuration. Event ually, the sister chromatids became completely separated. Whether this bizarre phenomenon was induced by the polyphenols contained in this g reen tea extract GTE-TP91 is not known, but this phenomenon, upon furt her investigation, may throw some light on chromosomal proteins, centr omere behavior, telomere behavior and related questions.