Double minute

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Under Double minutes ( Engl. For "double small") is defined as up to several 100 k bp large double Chromatinstücke that in tumor cells may occur. They arise as extra chromosomal amplificates as a reaction to the inhibition of genes by cytostatics (so-called chemotherapy ).
They usually have their own origin of replication and are thus replicated during cell division , and in some cases they even have their own centromeres .
Double minutes are a diagnostic tool for assessing the stage of cancer. The more there are, the more genes there are that are supposed to be inhibited by the administration of cytostatics and the higher the drug doses one would have to give, which in turn massively increases the side effects. However, they are not the direct cause of the tumor , but arise as a reaction to the fight against the tumor.

literature

  • PE Barker: Double minutes in human tumor cells . In: Cancer Genet. Cytogenic. Volume 5, pp. 81-94, 1982