Spontaneous premature condensation of chromosomes in normal and transformed mammal cells.

Aim: To study the relation between premature chromosome condensation and the ability of the cells to undergo malignant transformation.

Methods: Standard cytogenetic analysis of bone marrow cells and cultured normal and tumor cells has been used.

Results: Comparative analysis of the frequency of occurrence of the cells with premature chromosome condensation (PCC) (cell "arrest" at G2/M phase) in relation to dividing cells in the cultures of human immortalized cells of hematopoietic origin, human lung carcinoma A-549 cells, and in populations of bone marrow cells of BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice differing in predisposition for myeloma development has been performed.