High frequency of common DNA copy number abnormalities detected by bacterial artificial chromosome array comparative genomic hybridization in 24 breast cancer cell lines

Breast cancer is a widespread disease in Japan and across the world. Breast cancer cells, as well as most other types of cancer cells, have diverse chromosomal aberrations. Clarifying the character of these chromosomal aberrations should contribute to the development of more suitable therapies, along with the predictions of metastasis and prognosis. Twenty-four breast cancer celllines were analyzed by bacterial artificial chromosome(BAC) array comparative genomic hybridization(CGH). The array slide contained duplicate spots of 4030 BAC clone DNAs covering the entire human genome with 1 Mbp resolution. In all 24 breast cancer celllines, frequent and significant amplifications as well as deletions were detected by BAC array CGH. Common DNA copy number gains, detected in 60% (above 15 cell lines) of the 24 breast cancer celllines were found in 76 BAC clones, located at 1q, 5p, 8q, 9p, 16p, 17q, and 20q. Moreover, common DNA copy number loss was detected in 136 BAC clones, located at 1q, 2q, 3p, 4p, 6q, 8p, 9p, 11p, 13q, 17p, 18q, 19p, Xp, and Xq. The DNA copy number abnormalities found included abnormality of the well-known oncogene cMYC (8q24.21); however, most of them were not reported to relate to breast cancer. BAC array CGH has great potential to detect DNA copy number abnormalities, and has revealed that breast cancer celllines have substantial heterogeneity.