Fluorescence in situ hybridisation assays designed for del(7q) detection uncover more complex rearrangements in myeloid leukaemia cell lines

Chromosome 7 abnormalities are associated with poor prognosis in myeloid leukaemia. The pathogenetic mechanisms that arise from chromosome 7 rearrangements and lead to malignancy are still poorly understood. The use of leukaemiaderived cell lines might be a useful tool to shed some light on these mechanisms. The cytogenetic characterisation of these cell lines is therefore important for the understanding of the genetic alterations leading to the disease. We carried out fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) on three different myeloid leukaemia-derived cell lines (GDM-1, GF-D8 and K562). These were selected on the basis of harbouring rearrangements of chromosome 7. The probes used in these experiments were whole and partial chromosome paints, Multiplex-fluorescence in situ hybridisation (M-FISH) probes as well as locus specific probes for the 7q22, 7q31 and 7q36 regions. Our study confirmed the chromosome 7 abnormalities previously reported in the cell lines GDM-1 and GF-D8. We refined one of the rearrangements of chromosome 7 in the K562 cell line and reported some discrepancies with the data published in earlier reports. With this study, we confirm the importance of using a series of FISH probes to characterise chromosomal abnormalities in detail, as some rearrangements might go under-detected or mis-interpreted. Moreover, we highlight the importance of monitoring cell lines broadly used in research, as these can lose or acquire characteristics as they evolve in time in different laboratories.