Abstract
In humans, naturally acquired microchimerism has been
observed in many tissues and organs. Fetal microchimerism, however, has not
been investigated in the human brain. Microchimerism of fetal as well as
maternal origin has recently been reported in the mouse brain. In this study,
we quantified male DNA in the human female brain as a marker for microchimerism
of fetal origin (i.e. acquisition of male DNA by a woman while bearing a male
fetus). Targeting the Y-chromosome-specific DYS14 gene, we performed real-time
quantitative PCR in autopsied brain from women without clinical or pathologic
evidence of neurologic disease (n = 26), or women who had Alzheimer’s disease
(n = 33). We report that 63% of the females (37 of 59) tested harbored male
microchimerism in the brain. Male microchimerism was present in multiple brain
regions. Results also suggested lower prevalence (p = 0.03) and concentration (p
= 0.06) of male microchimerism in the brains of women with Alzheimer’s disease
than the brains of women without neurologic disease. In conclusion, male
microchimerism is frequent and widely distributed in the human female brain.
journal reference (Open Access): PLoS ONE >>