Application of FISH-MN technique to probe micronuclei formation in normal, transformed and malignant cells using alpha satellite pan centromeric DNA

A micronucleus assay employing biotinylated alpha pan centromeric DNA probe was used in the present study. The study sample consisted of 4 normal, 2 transformed and 9 malignant cell lines of human origin. The frequency of centromere positive micronuclei (c + MN) was found to decrease from normal (67%) to transformed (64.9%) to cancer cells (59%). The c + MN/c-MN ratio from normal to malignant cells was found to vary significantly (P < 0.01), while the signal ratio showed absence of any correlation (P > 0.05). These results demonstrate the usefulness of combining FISH technique and micronuclei assay to trace the mechanism of micronucleus formation in cells of diverse histopathological origin.