FIGURE 1.

Aneuploid cells are characterized by increasing genome instability. Chromosome segregation errors lead to the generation of aneuploid cells with DNA damage. When attempting to duplicate their genome in S phase, aneuploid cells experience DNA replication stress. Altogether, this triggers further missegregation events in the subsequent cell cycles and thus the accumulation of cells with complex karyotypes, known for displaying reduced cellular fitness, entering senescence and displaying a senescence associated secretory phenotype (SASP). However, in the context of cancer, the increasing genome instability associated with aneuploidy can confer a proliferative advantage. This would allow them to survive and provide a strong advantage in the presence of selective pressures, such as during chemotherapy.