Abstract
Using laser microsurgery and cell fusion we have explored how additional centrosomes and/or chromosomes influence the duration of mitosis in human cells. We found that doubling the chromosome number added approximately 10 min to a 20 min division, whereas doubling the number of centrosomes added approximately 30 min more. Extra centrosomes and/or chromosomes prolong mitosis by delaying satisfaction of the spindle assembly checkpoint. Thus mitosis can be prolonged by non-genetic means and extra chromosomes and centrosomes probably contribute to the elevated mitotic index seen in many tumours.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by National Institutes of General Medical Sciences grants 40198 (to C.L.R.) and 59363 (to A.K.). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of General Medical Sciences or the National Institutes of Health.
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Z.Y. conducted the experiments and helped with the data analysis; J.L. assisted with the laser ablation work; A.K. and C.L.R. planned and supervised the project and data analyses.
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Supplementary Figures S1, S2, Supplementary Table S1 and Supplementary Methods (PDF 446 kb)
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Yang, Z., Lončarek, J., Khodjakov, A. et al. Extra centrosomes and/or chromosomes prolong mitosis in human cells. Nat Cell Biol 10, 748–751 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb1738
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb1738