Premature centromere division in three unrelated families.

We describe three unrelated families with an increased frequency of cells with premature centromere division (PCD) in all of the chromosomes. There were eight phenotypically normal individuals with PCD in these families. Familial PCD phenomenon is different from the described PCD of X chromosome and of the cells of patients with Roberts syndrome. In this study, we discussed our findings in different medium and time and with/without colcemid in cases referred with spontaneous abortions and in the father of a child who had chromosomal abnormality. In our families, this anomaly was transmitted in a way compatible with autosomal dominant inheritance.