Chromosome balance and the control of malignancy

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Abstract
The Giemsa banding pattern of the chromosomes has been analyzed in a line of transformed golden hamster cells, revertant and re‐revertant cells and their tumors. The transformed and re‐revertant cells were malignant in vivo and had gained an additional chromosome 57. Revertants with a suppression of malignancy lost this additional chromosome 57 and gained an additional chromosome 72. The tumors produced by segregants from the revertant cells were malignant, although to a lower degree than transformed and re‐revertant cells. These tumors had lost the additional chromosome 72 found in revertants and gained one or two 512 chromosomes. The results support the hypothesis that the balance between genes for expression and suppression controls malignancy. The data indicate that chromosome 72 carries genes for suppression and that chromosomes 57 and 512 carry genes for expression of malignancy. The genes on chromosome 57 seem to result in a greater degree of expression than the genes on chromosome 512. The chromosome balance that controlled malignancy in these cells, also controlled the expression and suppression of transformed properties in vitro.