D pan-centromere FISH (green). First panel: An example of pericentromeric chromosomal deletion. Second panel: An example of pericentromeric chromosomal breaks with both arms present. Third panel: An example of pericentromeric chromosomal translocation. Note that the joined region was at centromeric Title Loaded From File constriction region with centromere FISH signals. Lowest panel: An example of dicentrics with joined regions involving centromeric ends (Xp and 21p). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0048576.gCentromere-adjacent Large c-H2AX Foci were more Frequently Detected in HPV16 Title Loaded From File E6E7-hTERT-immortalized than hTERT-immortalized Cells Before and After APH Treatmentc-H2AX is a commonly used DNA damage/response marker. We performed dual-color immunofluorescence staining with antibodies against c-H2AX and centromeric proteins to examine whether the DNA damage/response signals were localized at or near centromeres. Analysis with confocal microscopy showed that significantly greater numbers of large nuclear c-H2AX foci (at least twice as large as centromeric protein foci) were present in HPV16 E6E7-hTERT-immortalized cells than in hTERT-immortalized cells of the same cell origins (P,0.05) (Figure 5). The majority (,70 ) of the large c-H2AX foci were juxtaposed or colocalized with centromeres, as exemplified in Figure 6. At the end of 24 h APH treatment, increased numbers of large c-H2AX foci, together with numerous small c-H2AX foci, were observed in HPV16 E6E7-hTERT-immortalized cells as well as in hTERT-immortalized cells (Figure 6). Seventy-two hours after removal of APH, mainly large c-H2AX foci remained, most ofwhich (,80 ) were juxtaposed with centromeres (Figure 6); and there were significantly more such foci in HPV16 E6E7-hTERTimmortalized cells than in hTERT-immortalized cells (P,0.05, Figure 5).HPV16 E6E7-hTERT-expressing Cells were Deficient in Recovering from Replication Stress-induced S-phase 1531364 Arrest Compared with hTERT-expressing CounterpartsCell cycle distributions were analyzed using flow-cytometrical analyses (Figure S4). HPV16 E6E7-hTERT-immortalized and hTERT-immortalized cells did not differ remarkably in the partial S-phase arrest (percentages of S-phase increase) at the 1317923 end of APH treatment. Yet, 72 h after removal of APH, the proportions of Sphases in hTERT-immortalized cells returned almost to the original levels before treatment, whereas those in HPV16 E6E7hTERT-immortalized cells were restored to only half of the original levels. This indicated that HPV16 E6E7-hTERT-expressing cells had slower S-phase recovery rates than hTERTimmortalized cells after release from replication stress.Centromeric Instability after Replication StressFigure 4. Chromosome aberrations after APH treatment in hTERT-immortalized cell lines without expression of HPV16 E6E7. A: Frequencies of chromatid breaks measured at the end of APH treatment. B: Frequencies of non-clonal chromosomal aberrations measured at 72 h after removal of APH. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0048576.gDiscussionIn this study, we have unveiled previously unreported features of pericentromeric instability (dynamic formation of aberrations ranging from chromosome bands p11 to q11). Firstly, we found that HPV16 E6E7 could preferentially induce pericentromeric instability in cells that did not have telomere shortening-mediated chromosome instability. A subset of the cells carrying pericentromeric aberrations underwent clonal expansion so that clonal pericentromeric aberrations were detected at late population.D pan-centromere FISH (green). First panel: An example of pericentromeric chromosomal deletion. Second panel: An example of pericentromeric chromosomal breaks with both arms present. Third panel: An example of pericentromeric chromosomal translocation. Note that the joined region was at centromeric constriction region with centromere FISH signals. Lowest panel: An example of dicentrics with joined regions involving centromeric ends (Xp and 21p). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0048576.gCentromere-adjacent Large c-H2AX Foci were more Frequently Detected in HPV16 E6E7-hTERT-immortalized than hTERT-immortalized Cells Before and After APH Treatmentc-H2AX is a commonly used DNA damage/response marker. We performed dual-color immunofluorescence staining with antibodies against c-H2AX and centromeric proteins to examine whether the DNA damage/response signals were localized at or near centromeres. Analysis with confocal microscopy showed that significantly greater numbers of large nuclear c-H2AX foci (at least twice as large as centromeric protein foci) were present in HPV16 E6E7-hTERT-immortalized cells than in hTERT-immortalized cells of the same cell origins (P,0.05) (Figure 5). The majority (,70 ) of the large c-H2AX foci were juxtaposed or colocalized with centromeres, as exemplified in Figure 6. At the end of 24 h APH treatment, increased numbers of large c-H2AX foci, together with numerous small c-H2AX foci, were observed in HPV16 E6E7-hTERT-immortalized cells as well as in hTERT-immortalized cells (Figure 6). Seventy-two hours after removal of APH, mainly large c-H2AX foci remained, most ofwhich (,80 ) were juxtaposed with centromeres (Figure 6); and there were significantly more such foci in HPV16 E6E7-hTERTimmortalized cells than in hTERT-immortalized cells (P,0.05, Figure 5).HPV16 E6E7-hTERT-expressing Cells were Deficient in Recovering from Replication Stress-induced S-phase 1531364 Arrest Compared with hTERT-expressing CounterpartsCell cycle distributions were analyzed using flow-cytometrical analyses (Figure S4). HPV16 E6E7-hTERT-immortalized and hTERT-immortalized cells did not differ remarkably in the partial S-phase arrest (percentages of S-phase increase) at the 1317923 end of APH treatment. Yet, 72 h after removal of APH, the proportions of Sphases in hTERT-immortalized cells returned almost to the original levels before treatment, whereas those in HPV16 E6E7hTERT-immortalized cells were restored to only half of the original levels. This indicated that HPV16 E6E7-hTERT-expressing cells had slower S-phase recovery rates than hTERTimmortalized cells after release from replication stress.Centromeric Instability after Replication StressFigure 4. Chromosome aberrations after APH treatment in hTERT-immortalized cell lines without expression of HPV16 E6E7. A: Frequencies of chromatid breaks measured at the end of APH treatment. B: Frequencies of non-clonal chromosomal aberrations measured at 72 h after removal of APH. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0048576.gDiscussionIn this study, we have unveiled previously unreported features of pericentromeric instability (dynamic formation of aberrations ranging from chromosome bands p11 to q11). Firstly, we found that HPV16 E6E7 could preferentially induce pericentromeric instability in cells that did not have telomere shortening-mediated chromosome instability. A subset of the cells carrying pericentromeric aberrations underwent clonal expansion so that clonal pericentromeric aberrations were detected at late population.