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Donor Y chromosome in renal carcinoma cells of a female BMT recipient: visualization of putative BMT–tumor hybrids by FISH

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 35, pages 1021–1024 (2005)Cite this article

Bone marrow-derived cells contribute to a wide variety of normal tissues such as liver, brain, and heart. This is due, at least in part, to cell fusion, in some cases with macrophages.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 There are more than 25 reports of tumor hybridization in animals,7 and myeloid cell–tumor hybrids have been observed in melanoma,8 lymphoma,9 sarcoma,10, 11 and insulinoma models.12 In some cases, tumor hybridization was associated with metastasis.7 However, little is known of this in humans. Recently, the first genetic evidence for bone marrow–tumor cell hybridization in humans was reported.13 In that study, tumor DNA was analyzed from a child who developed metastatic renal cell carcinoma during a time when he had also received a BMT from his cancer-free, 6-year-old brother. Microdissected tumor cells of a nodal metastasis were shown through PCR to contain donor DNA, consistent with BMT–tumor hybridization.

In the case herein, a primary renal cell carcinoma was probed from a female patient who, 2 years prior to detection of the tumor, had received a BMT from her 15-year-old son. Due to the male donor–female recipient nature of the BMT, FISH could be used to search for putative BMT–tumor hybrids. Karyotyping revealed that the tumor contained a clonal trisomy 17. Combining H&E staining and dual-label FISH, the donor Y and three or more copies of chromosome 17 were visualized together in individual nuclei of carcinoma cells, providing direct genetic and morphological evidence for BMT–tumor hybrids.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Y Yilmaz & M Qumsiyeh

  2. Department of Dermatology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT, 06520-8059, USA

    R Lazova & J Pawelek

  3. Section of Medical Oncology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    D Cooper

  4. The Yale Cancer Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Y Yilmaz, R Lazova, M Qumsiyeh, D Cooper & J Pawelek

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Yilmaz, Y., Lazova, R., Qumsiyeh, M. et al. Donor Y chromosome in renal carcinoma cells of a female BMT recipient: visualization of putative BMT–tumor hybrids by FISH. Bone Marrow Transplant 35, 1021–1024 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1704939

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