Recombination between separate MYC amplification structures in COLO320 cells

Cytogenetically visible gene amplification structures can consist of arrays of amplicons presumably formed by secondary "rearrangements" following amplicon formation. The structural evolution of gene amplification sites in tumor cells suggests that complex secondary structures may have some selective advantage in the tumor cell environment. Although secondary amplicon rearrangements are a hallmark of the gene amplification process, little is known about the mechanics of this process. COLO320 neuroendocrine tumor cells carry two different types of amplified MYC oncogene sequences, one type with an intact MYC gene and the other with a rearranged "chimeric" MYC gene. We have studied various clonal subpopulations of COLO320 cells and identified regions within and downstream of the MYC locus that are unique to each amplicon type. Using double-label fluorescence in situ hybridization with DNA probes unique to each amplicon type, we have observed that both chromosomal and extrachromosomal MYC amplicon arrays in COLO320 cells frequently consist of heterogeneous mixtures of each MYC amplicon type. Our results suggest that the two MYC amplicon types of COLO320 cells were formed simultaneously but independently, and that double minute chromosomes observed in COLO320 cells were formed by intermolecular homologous recombination secondary to amplicon formation.