Suppression of gene amplification in human cell hybrids.

Gene amplification, one example of genetic instability, is of prognostic and clinical importance in neoplasia. In tumorigenic cells, gene amplification occurs at a very high frequency, whereas in normal diploid fibroblasts the event is undetectable by the clonogenic assay. To investigate genetic control of gene amplification, amplification frequency was measured in hybrids of tumorigenic cells and normal diploid cells. The ability to amplify an endogenous gene behaved as a recessive genetic trait, and control of gene amplification potential segregated independently of tumorigenicity and immortality.