Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Engineered human dicentric chromosomes show centromere plasticity.

Anne W Higgins1, Karen M Gustashaw, Huntington F Willard

  • 1Department of Genetics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.

Chromosome Research : an International Journal on the Molecular, Supramolecular and Evolutionary Aspects of Chromosome Biology
|December 7, 2005
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Limited Survival Benefit and High Healthcare Utilization With AML-Directed Therapy in Older Patients With TP53-Mutated Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

American journal of hematology·2026
Same author

Ontogeny and Natural History of Therapy-Related Clonal Hematopoiesis From a Multidisciplinary CHIP Clinic.

American journal of hematology·2026
Same author

Clinico-genomic characterization of RAS-mutant acute myeloid leukemia.

Annals of hematology·2026
Same author

A scalable approach for genomic-first rare disorder detection in a healthcare-based population.

American journal of human genetics·2025
Same author

X and Y gene dosage effects are primary contributors to human sexual dimorphism: The case of height.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2025
Same author

Genomic Screening at a Single Health System.

JAMA network open·2025

Centromere activity in human chromosomes can change, likely due to epigenetic modifications. This study used engineered dicentric chromosomes to show that centromere function, while generally stable, can dynamically switch between active and inactive states.

Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Genetics
  • Epigenetics

Background:

  • The centromere is crucial for accurate chromosome segregation during cell division.
  • The exact genetic and epigenetic mechanisms governing centromere function remain incompletely understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate mammalian centromere structure and function using engineered dicentric human chromosomes.
  • To explore the dynamic nature of centromere activity and its epigenetic regulation.

Main Methods:

  • Isolation and analysis of three classes of dicentric human chromosomes in different cell lines.
  • Serial single-cell cloning to study centromere activity dynamics.
  • Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis to assess DNA integrity at centromeres.
  • Treatment with Trichostatin A (histone deacetylase inhibitor) to observe effects on centromere activity.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Identified functionally monocentric, functionally dicentric, and heterogeneous dicentric chromosome classes.
  • Demonstrated that centromere state can switch within cell populations, suggesting epigenetic regulation.
  • Observed inactivation of one centromere in functionally dicentric chromosomes after Trichostatin A treatment.
  • Pulsed-field gel analysis showed no detectable DNA changes associated with centromere state switching.

Conclusions:

  • Human centromere activity, though largely stable, is subject to dynamic epigenetic changes.
  • Epigenetic modifications are likely responsible for the observed switching of centromere states.
  • The study provides evidence for the plasticity of centromere function in mammalian cells.