THE KARYOTYPIC STRUCTURE OF CELL POPULATIONS IN VITRO AS INTEGRAL SYSTEM
G. G. Poljanskaya,1 Y. B. Vakhtin
Institute of Cytology RAS, St. Petersburg;
1 e-mail: poljansk@mail.cytspb.rssi.ru
This review describes regularities of karyotypic variability maintaining karyotypic stabilization of continuous
cell lines. Statistical analysis of individual karyotypes of "marker" and "markerless" cell lines show that survival
of cell population in vitro is maintained by a certain ratio of cells with different structural variants of
karyotype (SVK). Characteristic feature of karyotypic variability in the "markerless" cell lines during long-term
cultivation under various conditions is dicentric formation due to telomeric associations. These dicentrics seem to
form genetical structures providing adaptation to conditions in vitro of the cell population as an autonomous
system. Correlations between the numerical variability reflecting in SVK, and structural variability (dicentric
formation) are manifestations of an integral cell-populational function. Experimental data allow to suggest that
integrity of the karyotypic structure of cell populations is maintained not only by selection of random variations,
but also by programmed (adaptive) changes of karyotype. As a whole, in the cell population the state is realized
that can be called karyotypic homeostasis; the observed phenomena characterize processes maintaining such
homeostasis.
Key words: karyotypic variability, cell cultures, chromosomal aberrations, dicentrics, structural
variant of karyotype
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