Cytogenetic studies in venous tissue from patients with varicose veins.

Cytogenetic investigation of primary cell cultures from fragments of varicose veins of seven patients with familial varicosity and seven patients with the sporadic type revealed the presence of metaphases with structural abnormalities, clonal trisomies of chromosomes 7, 12, and 18, and monosomy of chromosome 14 only in cases with the familial type, while the sporadic cases had no similar chromosome aberrations. The immunophenotypical results are consistent with fibroblast lineage of the cultured cells. These results suggest that karyotypic variations in familial varicose vein tissue cultures could in some way be associated either with the genotypic constitution responsible for the familial type or a longer duration of disease on average than those with sporadic varicosities.

Molecular analysis of a human Y;1 translocation in an azoospermic male.

Cytogenetic studies on an azoospermic male revealed a balanced Y;1 translocation: 46,X,t(Y;1)(q12;p34.3). In situ hybridization with the probe St35-239 (DXY64) and with a probe detecting telomeric sequences revealed that only the Y telomere is involved in the translocation. Fluorescence in situ hybridization with a chromosome 1 library on meiotic preparations revealed consistent contact of the painted chromosome 1 with the sex vesicle at pachytene, the most advanced stage of spermatogenesis observed. No deletions were observed after Southern blot analysis with probes p49f (DYS1), 50f2 (DYS7), and 52d (DYF27), which map in interval 6 of the Y chromosome, which includes the azoospermia factor (AZF) gene. The results indicate that the infertility of the translocation carrier could be due to an alteration of the sex vesicle structure or to a disturbance of X-chromosome inactivation as a result of the proximity to the autosomal portion.

Cytogenetics of multiple endocrine neoplasia syndromes. III. Analysis of an insulinoma from a subject with MEN 1 by chromosome painting.

The cytogenetics of an insulinoma from a subject with MEN 1 characterized by the consistent presence of double minute chromosomes (dmins) and by five characteristic marker chromosomes was investigated with fluorescence in situ hybridization after labeling with a chromosome 11 library. The dmins were consistently negative for 11q material, with the exception of one metaphase which had two positive dmins. This indicated that the dmins are not derived massively from chromosome 11 and that they can be heterogeneous in their origin. One of the marker chromosomes, tentatively identified as a del (7), turned out to be the product of a 7;11 translocation.

Cytogenetics of multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome. II. Chromosome abnormalities in an insulinoma and a glucagonoma from two subjects with MEN1.

Cytogenetic analysis of two pancreatic islet tumors, an insulinoma and a glucagonoma was ascertained in two subjects with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1). The insulinoma had a modal peak at 84 chromosomes. Most cells were pseudotetraploid, and in all cells the normal chromosomes were represented in varied numbers, i.e., from 1 to 7 copies. The tumor had 5 characteristic and consistent marker chromosomes which were identified as deletions of chromosomes 1, 2, 7, 16, and 17. All metaphases had several double minute chromosomes (dmin) of variable size and possible intermediate structures between dmin and homogeneously staining chromosomal regions. The glucagonoma had a nearly equal proportion of normal metaphases and metaphases with structural and numerical abnormalities with no consistent trend.

Interphase cytogenetics of the ICF syndrome.

Interphase behaviour of centromeric heterochromatin of chromosomes 1 and 16 has been investigated in lymphocytes and fibroblasts of patients with ICF syndrome and of normal subjects with non-isotopic in situ hybridization, using the satellite II-related probe pHuR 195. We found evidence for interphase somatic pairing in ICF lymphocytes with a frequency higher than that found in normal cells. Lymphocytes of ICF patients showed nuclear protrusions and micronuclei and these nuclear abnormalities consistently involved a hybridization signal. Somatic pairing was also present in fibroblasts, but with frequencies similar in normal and ICF subjects. The fibroblasts do not have the major chromosomal abnormalities found in lymphocytes. The degree of heterochromatin condensation in fibroblasts was lower than that in lymphocytes and we postulate that the more decondensed state of chromocentres in the fibroblasts could be the reason for the absence of the major chromosomal abnormalities.