Double minute

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Image:DoubleMinute.jpg
Fluorescent in situ hybridization of a metaphase spread showing chromosomes stained in red and double minutes stained in green (left) and all nuclear DNA stained black (right). In both panels, the double minutes are indicated by arrows.
Double minutes are small fragments of extrachromosomal DNA, which have been observed in a large number of human tumors including breast, lung, ovary and colon. They are a manifestation of gene amplification during the development of tumors, which give the cells selective advantages for growth and survival. They frequently harbor amplified oncogenes and genes involved in drug resistance. Double minutes, like actual chromosomes, are composed of chromatin and replicate in the nucleus of the cell during cell division. Unlike typical chromosomes, they are composed of circular fragments of DNA, up to only a few million base pairs in size and contain no centromere or telomere.

References

  • Barker, P.E. (1982). Double minutes in human tumor cells. Cancer Genet. Cytogent. 5, 81-94.

See also


Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content

Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .

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