Centromeres without kinetochore proteins. Another mechanism for origin of aneuploidy in neoplasia.

Centromeres of all chromosomes in normal cells exhibit kinetochore proteins detectable by antikinetochore antibodies. The present communication reports that some chromosomes in a transformed cell line of rat cerebral origin fail to deposit kinetochore proteins at their centromeres. These chromosomes may not undergo normal anaphase segregation and may be either lost or enter one or the other daughter cell. The observation that some chromosomes may be without detectable kinetochore proteins suggests a noval mechanism for origin of aneuploidy in transformed and neoplastic cells.