Unusual Maternal Uniparental Isodisomic X Chromosome Mosaicism with Asymmetric Y Chromosomal Rearrangement

Abstract

Infertile men with azoospermia commonly have associated microdeletions in the azoospermia factor (AZF) region of the Y chromosome, sex chromosome mosaicism, or sex chromosome rearrangements. In this study, we describe an unusual 46,XX and 45,X mosaicism with a rare Y chromosome rearrangement in a phenotypically normal male patient. The patient's karyotype was 46,XX[50]/45,X[25]/46,X,der(Y)(pter→q11.222::p11.2→pter)[25]. The derivative Y chromosome had a deletion at Yq11.222 and was duplicated at Yp11.2. Two copies of the SRY gene were confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis, and complete deletion of the AZFb and AZFc regions was shown by multiplex-PCR for microdeletion analysis. Both X chromosomes of the predominant mosaic cell line (46,XX) were isodisomic and derived from the maternal gamete, as determined by examination of short tandem repeat markers. We postulate that the derivative Y chromosome might have been generated during paternal meiosis or early embryogenesis. Also, we suggest that the very rare mosaicism of isodisomic X chromosomes might be formed during maternal meiosis II or during postzygotic division derived from the 46,X,der(Y)/ 45,X lineage because of the instability of the derivative Y chromosome. To our knowledge, this is the first confirmatory study to verify the origin of a sex chromosome mosaicism with a Y chromosome rearrangement.