Integrity of the human centromere DNA repeats is protected by CENP-A, CENP-C, and CENP-T.

ABSTRACT: Centromeres are highly specialized chromatin domains that enable chromosome segregation and orchestrate faithful cell division. Human centromeres are composed of tandem arrays of α-satellite DNA, which spans up to several megabases. Little is known about the mechanisms that maintain integrity of the long arrays of α-satellite DNA repeats. Here, we monitored centromeric repeat stability in human cells using chromosome-orientation fluorescent in situ hybridization (CO-FISH). This assay detected aberrant centromeric CO-FISH patterns consistent with sister chromatid exchange at the frequency of 5% in primary tissue culture cells, whereas higher levels were seen in several cancer cell lines and during replicative senescence. To understand the mechanism(s) that maintains centromere integrity, we

SUBMITTER: Giunta S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5338446 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature