title: Foreign fetal cells persist in the maternal circulation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether allogenic fetal cells resulting from donor egg pregnancies persist in maternal circulation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of the DYS14 sequence, a region of the Y chromosome, from DNA purified from peripheral blood cells.
  
  
  METHODS
  Academic medical center.
  
  
  METHODS
  Healthy 18-60-year-old women who have had donor egg pregnancies resulting in a male offspring (n = 11) or, as a control, female offspring (n = 8), at least 1 year previously and without any other source for male cells in their peripheral blood or a healthy male.
  
  
  METHODS
  None.
  
  
  METHODS
  Detection of DYS14 sequence by nested PCR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  DYS14 was detected in 5/11 (45%) of women who had donor egg pregnancies resulting in a male offspring, but in 0/8 (0) of women who had donor egg pregnancies resulting in a female offspring. The longest interval between delivery of a male offspring and detection of the DYS14 gene was 9 years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Unmatched, allogenic fetal cells from donor egg pregnancies are able to persist in the circulation of healthy women for at least 9 years after delivery. This implies a novel mechanism by which immunologic detection is avoided by these cells and may impact on how they may be used for regenerative and transplant medicine.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. zwilliams2@partners.org
authors.forename: Zev
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Dimity
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zepf
authors.forename: Janina
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Longtine
authors.forename: Raymond
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Anchan
authors.forename: Betsy
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Broadman
authors.forename: Stacey A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Missmer
authors.forename: Mark D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Hornstein
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D046528:Chimerism; D041322:Chromosomes, Human, Y / Q000235:genetics*; D004247:DNA / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011247:Pregnancy; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004247:DNA