Figure 1. Expression of Usp44 leads to chromosome missegregation and aneuploidy.

(a) Expression of Usp44-HA in MEFs as seen by immunoblotting (upper) or quantitative real-time (qRT)-PCR (lower). Four independent MEF lines were transduced with Usp44-HA or Usp44Cherry followed by TaqMan qRT-PCR. Expression was normalized to GAPDH, and fold-change was calculated using the ΔCt method. (b) MEFs stably transduced with either empty vector (n = 78 cells), Usp44-HA (n = 106 cells), or Usp44^Cherry (n = 53 total) were analyzed by live-cell microscopy through the indicated numbers of un-perturbed cell divisions. Chromosomes were visualized by transduction with lentivirus encoding histone H2B fused with yellow fluorescent protein (H2B-YFP). The results depict the average and standard error from three-independent MEF lines. (c) Example of a cell with a lagging chromosome (upper) and anaphase bridge (lower). (d) Karyotype analysis of low passage MEFs. Stable transduction with the indicated lentivirus was performed at passage 2. N (metaphases)  = 175 (Empty vector control) and 223 (Usp44-HA) from a total of four independent MEF lines per genotype. (e) Representative spectral karyotype (SKY) of a cell expressing Usp44-HA. Note this cell has a normal chromosome number (40) but has a trisomy of chromosome 12 and monosomy of chromosome 7. * p<0.05 calculated with the unpairted t-test. Error bars represent the SEM.