Tuning chromosomal instability to optimize tumor fitness

Abstract

Low rates of chromosomal instability (CIN) are weakly tumor promoting, whereas high rates of CIN cause cell death and tumor suppression. In this context, Sansregret and colleagues show that one mechanism to restrain excessive CIN in tumor cells and increase fi tness is through mutations in the anaphase promoting complex/ cyclosome. This serves to delay mitotic progression and decrease the rate of chromosome missegregation.