Nonrandomness of translocations in man: preferential entry of chromosomes into 13-15-21 translocations.

Lymphocytes from 20 individuals with Down's syndrome due to 13-15/21 centric-fusion translocations were studied by autoradiography after continuous late labeling with tritiated thymidine. In no case was chromosome 13 involved; chromosome 14 was involved in 18 cases, and chromosome 15 in two cases. These results are similar to those from 13 previously studied cases and indicate that the entry of chromosomes 13-15 into translocations is nonrandom. This nonrandomness is not a simple function of chromosome size or shape, since chromosomes 13-15 are acrocentrics of similar size.