Rapid interphase and metaphase assessment of specific chromosomal changes in neuroectodermal tumor cells by in situ hybridization with chemically modified DNA probes

Repeated DNAs from the constitutive heterochromatin of human
chromosomes 1 and 18 were used as probes in nonradioactive in situ
hybridization experiments to define specific numerical and
structural chromosome aberrations in three human glioma cell lines
and one neuroblastoma cell line. The number of spots detected in
interphase nuclei of these tumor cell lines and in normal diploid
nuclei correlated well with metaphase counts of chromosomes
specifically labeled by in situ hybridization. Rapid and reliable
assessments of aneuploid chromosome numbers in tumor lines in
double hybridization experiments were achieved, and rare cells with
bizarre phenotype and chromosome constitution could be evaluated in
a given tumor cell population. Even with suboptimal or rare
chromosome spreads specific chromosome aberrations were delineated.
As more extensive probe sets become available this approach will
become increasingly powerful for uncovering various genetic
alterations and their progression in tumor cells.