Efficient human-like antibody repertoire and hybridoma production in trans-chromosomic mice carrying megabase-sized human immunoglobulin loci

Trans-chromosomic (Tc) mice carrying mini-chromosomes with human immunoglobulin (Ig) loci have contributed to the development of fully human therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (Abs); however, we previously observed that mitotic instability of human mini-chromosomes in mice has limited the efficiency of hybridoma production. Here, we established a new generation of human Ab producing Tc mice (TC-mAb mice), which stably maintain a mouse-derived engineered chromosome containing the entire human Ig heavy and kappa chain loci in a mouse Ig knockout background. Comprehensive, high-throughput DNA sequencing revealed that the human Ig repertoire, including variable gene use, was well recapitulated in TC-mAb mice. Despite slightly altered B cell development and a delayed immune response, immunized TC-mAb mice exhibited more subsets of antigen-specific plasmablast and plasma cells compared with wild-type mice, leading to high efficiency hybridoma production. Thus, TC-mAb mice offer a valuable platform to obtain fully human therapeutic Abs and to elucidate the regulation of human Ig repertoire formation.

Modeling of dynamic mosaicism on ring chromosomes in human fibroblasts and IPSCS

Митотическая нестабильность кольцевых хромосом может приводить к появлению клеточных клонов с различной генетической структурой. В качестве модели нестабильности кольцевых хромосом в митозе мы использовали фибробласты от пациентов с r(8), r(13), r(18) и r(22) и полученные из них индуцированные плюрипотентные стволовые клетки (ИПСК). Линии ИПСК с r(22) имели относительно стабильный кариотип на протяжении десятков (до 60) пассажей и сохраняли неизменную структуру кольцевой хромосомы. Кариотип линий ИПСК с r(8) и r(18) на ранних пассажах стабильный, планируется его изучение на поздних пассажах. Наибольшее разнообразие кариотипа выявлено в линиях ИПСК с r(13), в которых наблюдали различные перестройки и выраженную клеточную гетерогенность. Определение факторов, влияющих на митотическую стабильность кольцевых хромосом, может иметь значение для консультирования пациентов. Mitotic instability of ring chromosomes can lead to the appearance of cell clones with different genetic structure. IPSCs from fibroblasts of patients with r(8), r(13), r(18), and r(22) were used as a model of ring chromosomes mitotic behavior. Karyotypes of iPSC lines with r(8) and r(18) have so far been evaluated only in the early passages, lines with r(22) have maintained a relatively stable karyotype up to 60 passages. The occurrence of rearrangements and cellular heterogeneity was found characteristic for r(13) iPSCs. The determination of factors affecting the ring chromosomes mitotic stability would be beneficial for the patient’s prognosis.

Towards New Approaches to Evaluate Dynamic Mosaicism in Ring Chromosome 13 Syndrome

Individuals with ring chromosome 13 may show characteristics observed in a deletion syndrome and could present a set of dismorphies along with intellectual disability, according to chromosomal segments involved in the genetic imbalance. Nevertheless, ring anomalies likewise is called “dynamic mosaicism”, phenomena triggered by the inner instability concerning the ring structure, thus leading to the establishment of different cell clones with secondary aberrations. Phenotypic features, such as growth failure and other anomalies in patients with this condition have been associated with an inherent ring chromosome mitotic instability, while recent studies offer evidence on a role played by the differential loss of genes implicated in development. Here, we observed similar mosaicism rates and specific gene loss profile among three individuals with ring chromosome 13 using GTW-banding karyotype analyses along with FISH and CGH-array approaches. Karyotypes results were: patient 1—r(13)(p13q32.3), patient 2—r(13)(p11q33.3), and patient 3—r(13)(p12q31.1). Array-CGH has revealed qualitative genetic differences among patients in this study and it was elusive in precise chromosomal loss statement, ranging from 13 Mb, 6.8 Mb, and 30 Mb in size. MIR17HG and ZIC2 loss was observed in a patient with digital anomalies, severe growth failure, microcephaly and corpus callosum agenesis while hemizygotic EFNB2 gene loss was identified in two patients, one of them with microphtalmia. According to these findings, it can be concluded that specific hemizygotic loss of genes related to development, more than dynamic mosaicism, may be causative of congenital anomalies shown in patients with ring 13 chromosome.

Induced aneuploidy disrupts MCF10A acini formation and CCND1 expression

ABSTRACTAbnormal karyotypes, namely aneuploidy, can be detected in nearly all cancer entities at different grades. The impact of these altering mutations on epigenetic regulation, especially on promoter-enhancer interactions are not well understood. Here, we applied a 3D model of MCF10A cells in a high-content screen to measure induced aneuploidy by RNA interference of 82 mitotic genes associated with aneuploidy and breast cancer. Perturbation of ESPL1 and TOP2A expression led to increased mitotic instability and subsequent aneuploidy and polylobed nuclei. During acinus formation these polylobed cells disrupted proper acinus rotation inhibiting the development of a hollow lumen and a polarized outer cell layer. Further, gene expression profiling identified upregulated CCND1 among other breast cancer related genes. We show that acquisition of aneuploidy affects the morphogenesis of MCF10A acini and expression of cancer relevant genes. By conducting 4C chromosome capturing experiments we linked the alteration of interactions of the promoter region to CCND1 upregulation.

Ring chromosome 3 instability at mitosis

Актуальность. Кольцевая хромосома 3 - редкая хромосомная аномалия, характеризующаяся выраженной вариабельностью фенотипических отклонений. Наиболее характерными проявлениями присутствия в кариотипе кольцевой хромосомы 3 являются пре- и постнатальная задержка роста, задержка психомоторного развития, микроцефалия и другие аномалии развития. Кольцевая структура может приводить к нарушению нормального расхождения хромосом при клеточном делении и вызывает митотическую нестабильность, приводящую к динамическому мозаицизму. В данном сообщении представлен случай митотической нестабильности кольцевой хромосомы 3 у ребенка с множественными пороками и аномалиями развития, демонстрирующий влияние вторичного хромосомного дисбаланса на степень выраженности фенотипических аномалий. Цель: исследование митотической нестабильности кольцевой хромосомы 3. Методы: FISH с ДНК-зондами на хромосому 3. Результаты. При стандартном цитогенетическом исследовании определен кариотип 46,XX,r(3)(p26q29). При FISH-анализе обнаружено наличие нескольких клонов клеток, содержащих различные варианты аномальных по структуре производных кольцевой хромосомы 3. Выводы. Присутствие кольцевых хромосом в геноме является причиной митотической нестабильности, что приводит к формированию соматического динамического мозаицизма. Соматический динамический мозаицизм, вследствие которого образуются клоны клеток с различным хромосомным дисбалансом, вносит существенный вклад в формирование аномального фенотипа. Ring chromosome 3 is a rare chromosomal abnormality with a highly variable phenotype principally characterized by pre- and postnatal growth retardation, developmental delay, mild to severe intellectual disability, microcephaly and mild dysmorphic features. The presence of a ring chromosome causes mitotic instability and often results in dynamic mosaicism with cells showing chromosomal or segmental aneuploidies and leading to various phenotypic consequences. We present a case of mitotic instability of ring chromosome 3 in a child with multiple malformations and developmental abnormalities. Aim: The investigation of ring chromosome 3 instability at mitosis. Methods: FISH with DNA probe on chromosome 3. Results: The karyotype of a child - 46,XX,r(3)(p26q29). FISH analysis revealed a mosaic clones derived from ring chromosome 3. Conclusions: The ring chromosomes are unstable at mitosis and lead to the formation of somatic dynamic mosaicism. Mitotic instability of ring chromosome 3 demonstrates the influence of secondary genetic imbalance on severity of symptoms in our patient.

Mitotic instability in triploid and tetraploid one-year-old eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, assessed by cytogenetic and flow cytometry techniques

For commercial oyster aquaculture, triploidy has significant advantages. To produce triploids, the principal technology uses diploid × tetraploid crosses. The development of tetraploid brood stock for this purpose has been successful, but as more is understood about tetraploids, it seems clear that chromosome instability is a principal feature in oysters. This paper is a continuation of work to investigate chromosome instability in polyploid Crassostrea virginica. We established families between tetraploids—apparently stable (non-mosaic) and unstable (mosaic)—and normal reference diploids, creating triploid groups, as well as tetraploids between mosaic and non-mosaic tetraploids. Chromosome loss was about the same for triploid juveniles produced from either mosaic or non-mosaic tetraploids or from either male or female tetraploids. However, there was a statistically significant difference in chromosome loss in tetraploid juveniles produced from mosaic versus non-mosaic parents, with mosaics producing more unstable progeny. These results confirm that chromosome instability, as manifested in mosaic tetraploids, is of little concern for producing triploids, but it is clearly problematic for tetraploid breeding. Concordance between the results from cytogenetics and flow cytometry was also tested for the first time in oysters, by assessing the ploidy of individuals using both techniques. Results between the two were non-concordant.

Aurora B prevents chromosome arm separation defects by promoting telomere dispersion and disjunction

The segregation of centromeres and telomeres at mitosis is coordinated at multiple levels to prevent the formation of aneuploid cells, a phenotype frequently observed in cancer. Mitotic instability arises from chromosome segregation defects, giving rise to chromatin bridges at anaphase. Most of these defects are corrected before anaphase onset by a mechanism involving Aurora B kinase, a key regulator of mitosis in a wide range of organisms. Here, we describe a new role for Aurora B in telomere dispersion and disjunction during fission yeast mitosis. Telomere dispersion initiates in metaphase, whereas disjunction takes place in anaphase. Dispersion is promoted by the dissociation of Swi6/HP1 and cohesin Rad21 from telomeres, whereas disjunction occurs at anaphase after the phosphorylation of condensin subunit Cnd2. Strikingly, we demonstrate that deletion of Ccq1, a telomeric shelterin component, rescued cell death after Aurora inhibition by promoting the loading of condensin on chromosome arms. Our findings reveal an essential role for telomeres in chromosome arm segregation.

Reproductive isolation in a nascent species pair is associated with aneuploidy in hybrid offspring

Speciation may occur when the genomes of two populations accumulate genetic incompatibilities and/or chromosomal rearrangements that prevent inter-breeding in nature. Chromosome stability is critical for survival and faithful transmission of the genome, and hybridization can compromise this. However, the role of chromosomal stability on hybrid incompatibilities has rarely been tested in recently diverged populations. Here, we test for chromosomal instability in hybrids between nascent species, the ‘dwarf’ and ‘normal’ lake whitefish ( Coregonus clupeaformis ). We examined chromosomes in pure embryos, and healthy and malformed backcross embryos. While pure individuals displayed chromosome numbers corresponding to the expected diploid number (2 n = 80), healthy backcrosses showed evidence of mitotic instability through an increased variance of chromosome numbers within an individual. In malformed backcrosses, extensive aneuploidy corresponding to multiples of the haploid number (1 n = 40, 2 n = 80, 3 n = 120) was found, suggesting meiotic breakdown in their F 1 parent. However, no detectable chromosome rearrangements between parental forms were identified. Genomic instability through aneuploidy thus appears to contribute to reproductive isolation between dwarf and normal lake whitefish, despite their very recent divergence (approx. 15–20 000 generations). Our data suggest that genetic incompatibilities may accumulate early during speciation and limit hybridization between nascent species.