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Jusino et al. J Cancer Metastasis Treat 2018;4:43 Journal of Cancer
DOI: 10.20517/2394-4722.2018.24 Metastasis and Treatment

Review Open Access

Centrosome aberrations and chromosome
instability contribute to tumorigenesis and intra-

tumor heterogeneity

Shirley Jusino, Fabiola M. Fernández-Padín, Harold I. Saavedra

Basic Sciences Department, Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce Research
Institute, Ponce, PR 00732, USA.

Correspondence to: Dr. Harold I. Saavedra, Basic Sciences Department, Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology, PO Box 7004,
Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce Research Institute, Ponce, PR 00732, USA. E-mail: hsaavedra@psm.edu

How to cite this article: Jusino S, Fernández-Padín FM, Saavedra HI. Centrosome aberrations and chromosome instability
contribute to tumorigenesis and intra-tumor heterogeneity. J Cancer Metastasis Treat 2018;4:43.
http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2394-4722.2018.24

Received: 8 Apr 2018 First Decision: 7 May 2018 Revised: 15 May 2018 Accepted: 22 Jun 2018 Published: 7 Aug 2018
Science Editor: Luciano G. Martelotto Copy Editor: Jun-Yao Li Production Editor: Cai-Hong Wang

Abstract
Centrosomes serve as the major microtubule organizing centers in cells and thereby contribute to cell shape, polarity,
and motility. Also, centrosomes ensure equal chromosome segregation during mitosis. Centrosome aberrations
arise when the centrosome cycle is deregulated, or as a result of cytokinesis failure. A long-standing postulate is that
centrosome aberrations are involved in the initiation and progression of cancer. However, this notion has been a subject
of controversy because until recently the relationship has been correlative. Recently, it was shown that numerical or
structural centrosome aberrations can initiate tumors in certain tissues in mice, as well as invasion. Particularly, we
will focus on centrosome amplification and chromosome instability as drivers of intra-tumor heterogeneity and their
consequences in cancer. We will also discuss briefly the controversies surrounding this theory to highlight the fact that
the role of both centrosome amplification and chromosome instability in cancer is highly context-dependent. Further, we
will discuss single-cell sequencing as a novel technique to understand intra-tumor heterogeneity and some therapeutic
approaches to target chromosome instability.

Keywords: Centrosome, chromosome instability, intra-tumor heterogeneity, single-cell sequencing

INTRODUCTION
Intra-tumor heterogeneity is a cancer hallmark that is characterized by the presence of different cell
subpopulations within the same tumor . These cell sub-populations foster tumor adaptation and evolution
[1,2]
© The Author(s) 2018. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use,
sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, for any purpose, even commercially, as long
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