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| A Possible Link Between Centrioles, Calcium Deficiency and Cancer |
| J. Wells; Discovery Institute, Seattle, WA |
| Presentation Number: 2829 |
| Poster Board Number: B621 |
| Centrosomal defects leading to chromosomal instability appear to be an early step in the development of major human cancers, though the precise nature of the centrosomal defects remains unknown. An animal centrosome contains two orthogonally oriented centrioles, each composed of nine microtubule triplets arranged like the blades of a turbine. An engineering analysis of centriole ultrastructure based on electron microscope data leads to the hypothesis that these organelles function as dynein-driven turbines to generate a high-speed, small-amplitude oscillation in spindle microtubules that resembles the motion of a laboratory vortexer. Calculations show that the result would be a polar ejection force several times stronger than gravity that would tend to push chromosomes away from spindle poles during prometaphase and metaphase. [Rivista di Biologia / Biology Forum 98 (2005): 71-96]. The transient increase in intracellular calcium that normally accompanies the onset of anaphase would shut down the dynein-driven centriolar turbines to permit the unobstructed poleward movement of chromosomes. Under conditions of calcium deficiency or defective calcium regulation, however, centrioles could generate an increasing polar ejection force throughout anaphase that would break chromosome arms and produce chromosomal instability. Several experimental approaches are suggested to test the hypothesis, which if corroborated may contribute to a better understanding not only of cell division but also of cancer. |
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