Gene amplification during differentiation of mammalian neural stem cells in vitro and in vivo

In development of amphibians and flies, gene amplification is one of mechanisms to increase gene expression. In mammalian cells, gene amplification seems to be restricted to tumorigenesis and acquiring of drug-resistance in cancer cells. Here, we report a complex gene amplification pattern in mouse neural progenitor cells during differentiation with approximately 10% of the genome involved. Half of the amplified mouse chromosome regions overlap with amplified regions previously reported in human neural progenitor cells, indicating conserved mechanisms during differentiation. Using fluorescence in situ hybridization, we verified the amplification in single cells of primary mouse mesencephalon E14 (embryonic stage) neurosphere cells during differentiation. In vivo we confirmed gene amplifications of the TRP53 gene in cryosections from mouse embryos at stage E11.5. Gene amplification is not only a cancer-related mechanism but is also conserved in evolution, occurring during differentiation of mammalian neural stem cells.