Consequences of Genomic Diversification Induced by Segregation Errors

Abstract

Chromosome segregation errors are an important source of genomic diversification that promote tumor heterogeneity and evolution. However, the aneuploidy induced by chromosome missegregations causes cellular stress at many levels, raising the question of how segregation errors can be tolerated in cancer. Additionally, we now know that chromosome segregation errors can lead to activation of the innate immune system, producing yet another challenge for chromosomally unstable cells. These observations imply that several liabilities are encountered during tumor evolution, which could potentially be exploited for cancer therapies. Here, we provide an overview of the different causes of segregation errors, their impact on cellular and genomic homeostasis, and discuss recent studies that help to understand how tolerance towards imbalanced karyotypes can be obtained.

Keywords: CIN; aneuploidy; chromosomal instability; micronuclei; missegregation; stress.