Demonstration of spontaneous XX/XY chimerism by DNA fingerprinting.
The M13 bacteriophage probe, which makes possible the establishment of DNA fingerprints, was used to study a phenotypically normal woman with a 46XY karyotype and her twin brother. Identical fingerprints and positive hybridization with a series of Y-specific probes were obtained on blood samples from the siblings. DNA from a skin biopsy of the woman yielded a clearly different pattern and displayed no Y-specific hybridization, indicating that she is a spontaneous chimera. This study illustrates the use of DNA fingerprinting as a powerful and simple aid to the diagnosis of natural chimerism.
Farber
C M
CM
Department of Immunology, Cliniques Universitaires Erasme, Brussels, Belgium.
Georges
M
M
De Bock
G
G
Verhest
A
A
Simon
P
P
Verschraegen-Spae
M
M
Vassart
G
G
D000328:Adult; D001435:Bacteriophages; D002678:Chimera; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007621:Karyotyping / Q000379:methods; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D009710:Nucleotide Mapping; D012730:Sex Chromosomes; D014427:Twins