Chromosomal instability (CIN) in HAP1 cell lines revealed by multiplex fluorescence in situ hybridisation (M-FISH)

Abstract Background HAP1, a near-haploid human leukemic cancer cell line is often used in combination with CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology for genetic screens. HAP1 carries the Philadelphia chromosome (Ph) and an additional ~ 30 Mb fragment of chromosome 15 inserted into chromosome 19. The poten...

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Main Authors: Ruby Banerjee, Cibele G. Sotero-Caio, Beiyuan Fu, Fengtang Yang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2022-10-01
Series:Molecular Cytogenetics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s13039-022-00625-x
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author Ruby Banerjee
Cibele G. Sotero-Caio
Beiyuan Fu
Fengtang Yang
author_facet Ruby Banerjee
Cibele G. Sotero-Caio
Beiyuan Fu
Fengtang Yang
author_sort Ruby Banerjee
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background HAP1, a near-haploid human leukemic cancer cell line is often used in combination with CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology for genetic screens. HAP1 carries the Philadelphia chromosome (Ph) and an additional ~ 30 Mb fragment of chromosome 15 inserted into chromosome 19. The potential use of an in vitro cell line as a model system in biomedical research studies depends on its ability to maintain genome stability. Being a cancer cell line with a near-haploid genome, HAP1 is prone to genetic instability, which is further compounded by its tendency to diploidise in culture spontaneously. Moreover, CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing coupled with prolonged in-vitro cell culturing has the potential to induce unintended ‘off-target’ cytogenetic mutations. To gain an insight into chromosomal instability (CIN) and karyotype heterogeneity, 19 HAP1 cell lines were cytogenetically characterised, 17 of which were near-haploids and two double-haploids, using multiplex fluorescence in situ hybridisation (M-FISH), at single cell resolution. We focused on novel numerical (N) and structural (S) CIN and discussed the potential causal factors for the observed instability. For each cell line we examined its ploidy, gene editing status and its length of in-vitro cell culturing. Results Sixteen of the 19 cell lines had been gene edited with passage numbers ranging from 10 to 35. Diploidisation in 17 near-haploid cell lines ranged from 4 to 35% and percentage of N- and S-CIN in [1n] and [2n] metaphases ranged from 7 to 50% with two cell lines showing no CIN. Percentage of cells with CIN in the two double-haploid cell lines were 96% and 100% respectively. The most common S-CIN observed was deletion followed by translocation of both types, non-reciprocal and Robertsonian. Interestingly, we observed a prevalence of S-CIN associated with chromosome 13 in both near-and double-haploid cell lines, with a high incidence of Robertsonian translocation involving chromosome 13. Furthermore, locus-specific BAC (bacterial artificial chromosome) FISH enabled us to show for the first time that the additional chromosome 15 fragment is inserted into the p-arm rather than the q-arm of chromosome 19 of the HAP1 genome. Conclusion Our study revealed a high incidence of CIN leading to karyotype heterogeneity in majority of the HAP1 cell lines with the number of chromosomal aberrations varying between cell lines. A noteworthy observation was the high frequency of structural chromosomal aberrations associated with chromosome 13. We showed that CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology in combination with spontaneous diploidisation and prolonged in-vitro cell culturing is potentially instrumental in inducing further chromosomal rearrangements in the HAP1 cell lines with existing CIN. We highlight the importance of maintaining cell lines at low passage and the need for regular monitoring to prevent implications in downstream applications. Our study also established that the additional fragment of chromosome 15 in the HAP1 genome is inserted into chromosome 19p rather than 19q.
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spelling doaj.art-9e02823e9e8c462a8db1dd7f5ad54a372022-12-22T03:22:29ZengBMCMolecular Cytogenetics1755-81662022-10-0115111310.1186/s13039-022-00625-xChromosomal instability (CIN) in HAP1 cell lines revealed by multiplex fluorescence in situ hybridisation (M-FISH)Ruby Banerjee0Cibele G. Sotero-Caio1Beiyuan Fu2Fengtang Yang3Molecular Cytogenetics Core Facility, Wellcome Sanger InstituteMolecular Cytogenetics Core Facility, Wellcome Sanger InstituteMolecular Cytogenetics Core Facility, Wellcome Sanger InstituteMolecular Cytogenetics Core Facility, Wellcome Sanger InstituteAbstract Background HAP1, a near-haploid human leukemic cancer cell line is often used in combination with CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology for genetic screens. HAP1 carries the Philadelphia chromosome (Ph) and an additional ~ 30 Mb fragment of chromosome 15 inserted into chromosome 19. The potential use of an in vitro cell line as a model system in biomedical research studies depends on its ability to maintain genome stability. Being a cancer cell line with a near-haploid genome, HAP1 is prone to genetic instability, which is further compounded by its tendency to diploidise in culture spontaneously. Moreover, CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing coupled with prolonged in-vitro cell culturing has the potential to induce unintended ‘off-target’ cytogenetic mutations. To gain an insight into chromosomal instability (CIN) and karyotype heterogeneity, 19 HAP1 cell lines were cytogenetically characterised, 17 of which were near-haploids and two double-haploids, using multiplex fluorescence in situ hybridisation (M-FISH), at single cell resolution. We focused on novel numerical (N) and structural (S) CIN and discussed the potential causal factors for the observed instability. For each cell line we examined its ploidy, gene editing status and its length of in-vitro cell culturing. Results Sixteen of the 19 cell lines had been gene edited with passage numbers ranging from 10 to 35. Diploidisation in 17 near-haploid cell lines ranged from 4 to 35% and percentage of N- and S-CIN in [1n] and [2n] metaphases ranged from 7 to 50% with two cell lines showing no CIN. Percentage of cells with CIN in the two double-haploid cell lines were 96% and 100% respectively. The most common S-CIN observed was deletion followed by translocation of both types, non-reciprocal and Robertsonian. Interestingly, we observed a prevalence of S-CIN associated with chromosome 13 in both near-and double-haploid cell lines, with a high incidence of Robertsonian translocation involving chromosome 13. Furthermore, locus-specific BAC (bacterial artificial chromosome) FISH enabled us to show for the first time that the additional chromosome 15 fragment is inserted into the p-arm rather than the q-arm of chromosome 19 of the HAP1 genome. Conclusion Our study revealed a high incidence of CIN leading to karyotype heterogeneity in majority of the HAP1 cell lines with the number of chromosomal aberrations varying between cell lines. A noteworthy observation was the high frequency of structural chromosomal aberrations associated with chromosome 13. We showed that CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology in combination with spontaneous diploidisation and prolonged in-vitro cell culturing is potentially instrumental in inducing further chromosomal rearrangements in the HAP1 cell lines with existing CIN. We highlight the importance of maintaining cell lines at low passage and the need for regular monitoring to prevent implications in downstream applications. Our study also established that the additional fragment of chromosome 15 in the HAP1 genome is inserted into chromosome 19p rather than 19q.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13039-022-00625-xHAP1Fluorescence in situ hybridisationChromosomal instabilityKaryotype heterogeneityCRISPR-Cas9 gene editingDiploidisation
spellingShingle Ruby Banerjee
Cibele G. Sotero-Caio
Beiyuan Fu
Fengtang Yang
Chromosomal instability (CIN) in HAP1 cell lines revealed by multiplex fluorescence in situ hybridisation (M-FISH)
Molecular Cytogenetics
HAP1
Fluorescence in situ hybridisation
Chromosomal instability
Karyotype heterogeneity
CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing
Diploidisation
title Chromosomal instability (CIN) in HAP1 cell lines revealed by multiplex fluorescence in situ hybridisation (M-FISH)
title_full Chromosomal instability (CIN) in HAP1 cell lines revealed by multiplex fluorescence in situ hybridisation (M-FISH)
title_fullStr Chromosomal instability (CIN) in HAP1 cell lines revealed by multiplex fluorescence in situ hybridisation (M-FISH)
title_full_unstemmed Chromosomal instability (CIN) in HAP1 cell lines revealed by multiplex fluorescence in situ hybridisation (M-FISH)
title_short Chromosomal instability (CIN) in HAP1 cell lines revealed by multiplex fluorescence in situ hybridisation (M-FISH)
title_sort chromosomal instability cin in hap1 cell lines revealed by multiplex fluorescence in situ hybridisation m fish
topic HAP1
Fluorescence in situ hybridisation
Chromosomal instability
Karyotype heterogeneity
CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing
Diploidisation
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s13039-022-00625-x
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