PRINS Evaluation of Chromosome Instability in Mammalian Cells by Detection of Repetitive DNA Sequences in Micronuclei

Micronuclei are indirect but reliable indicators of chromosome damage, formed at the mitotic division after either chromosome loss or chromosome breakage events, and identified at interphase as small bodies of extra-chromatin in the cytoplasm of mammalian cells. In this chapter, the procedures for single and dual-color primed in situ labeling detection of repetitive DNA sequences in micronuclei are described; the approach allows making inferences on the mechanism of micronucleus formation by considering the centromeric, pericentromeric and telomeric sequences as indicators of chromosome integrity into the micronuclei.