X-chromosome instability in pluripotential stem cell lines derived from parthenogenetic embryos.

The karotype of six pluripotential stem cell lines derived from haploid and two additional lines derived from diploid parthenogenetic embryos is described. All these lines are diploid and possess a normal autosomal complement. The stage at which diploidization of the haploid cells occurs is not yet known. The XX-chromosome complement in these lines is unstable, although in two haploid-derived lines and one diploid-derived line many normal XX-bearing cells are found in early cultures. All of the lines so far examined either become XO (rarely), or a single X-chromosome shows a deletion in the distal region. The extent of this deletion varies between lines, but the position of the breakpoint appears to be constant for a given line. We suggest that these cytogenetic findings raise the possibility that a single deletion event occurring at an early stage during the isolation of these lines may confer a selective advantage to those cells carrying the deleted X chromosome.