Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge Lethbridge, AB, Canada.
Front Genet. 2013 Jul 11;4:131. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2013.00131. eCollection 2013.
Micronuclei (MN) are extra-nuclear bodies that contain damaged chromosome fragments and/or whole chromosomes that were not incorporated into the nucleus after cell division. MN can be induced by defects in the cell repair machinery and accumulation of DNA damages and chromosomal aberrations. A variety of genotoxic agents may induce MN formation leading to cell death, genomic instability, or cancer development. In this review, the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms of MN formation after various clastogenic and aneugenic effects on cell division and cell cycle are described. The knowledge accumulated in literature on cytotoxicity of various genotoxins is precisely reflected and individual sensitivity to MN formation due to single gene polymorphisms is discussed. The importance of rapid MN scoring with respect to the cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay is also evaluated.
微核（MN）是指含有损伤的染色体片段和/或整条染色体的核外结构，这些染色体在细胞分裂后没有被纳入细胞核。MN 可由细胞修复机制缺陷以及 DNA 损伤和染色体畸变的积累引起。多种遗传毒性物质可能诱导 MN 的形成，导致细胞死亡、基因组不稳定性或癌症的发展。在这篇综述中，描述了各种致裂剂和非整倍体剂对细胞分裂和细胞周期的影响后 MN 形成的遗传和表观遗传机制。文献中积累的关于各种遗传毒物细胞毒性的知识得到了准确反映，并讨论了由于单个基因多态性导致的 MN 形成的个体敏感性。还评估了有丝分裂阻滞微核试验中快速 MN 评分的重要性。
