Sons I gave birth to are 'unrelated' to me

The Telegraph ^ | November 13, 2003 | Roger Highfield

[NYer]

One human chimera came to light when a 52-year-old woman demanded an explanation from doctors after tests showed that two of her three grown-up sons were biologically unrelated to her.

Although the woman, "Jane", conceived them naturally with her husband, tests to see if she could donate a kidney suggested that somehow she had given birth to somebody else's children.

A study in the New England Journal of Medicine by Dr Margot Kruskall, of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre in Boston, Massachusetts, showed that Jane is a chimera, a mixture of two individuals - non-identical twin sisters - whose cells intermingled in the womb and grew into a single body.

Dr Kruskall believes the most likely explanation is that Jane's mother conceived non-identical twin girls, who fused at an early stage of the pregnancy to form a single embryo, according to a report published today in New Scientist.

For some reason, cells from only one twin dominate in Jane's blood - used for tissue-typing. In her other tissues, however, including her ovaries, cells of both twins live amicably alongside each other, hence the apparently impossible genetics of her three sons.

One son came from an egg derived from the twin whose cells dominate Jane's blood, while his brothers came from eggs derived from the other twin's cells.

Around 30 similar instances of chimerism have been reported, and there are probably many more who will never discover their unusual origins. Most chimeras probably go through life unaware of their unusual constitution.

[NYer]

In Greek mythology, the Chimera was an awesome fire-breathing monster with the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a serpent. The Chimera was killed by the hero Bellerophon mounted, in most versions of the tale, on Pegasus, the winged horse.

[PBRSTREETGANG]

Here I was thinking they had switched her children in the maternity ward. This is a new one.

[stanz]

This is really freaky.

[anobjectivist]

Wow that is amazing.

[N. Theknow]

Is the woman blonde?

[Tac12]

Question for the Christians (or Muslims or whatever)

how many souls will go to heaven or hell? One or two or ...?

[MineralMan]

Most amazing, indeed. I had no idea that such natural chimeras existed as humans. I will have to check this out!

[Mo1]

Here I was thinking they had switched her children in the maternity ward. This is a new one.

Ditto

[eastsider]

And the two shall be as one ...

[wizardoz]

Hmmm..... is this proven, or just a theory? I mean, did they actually take DNA samples from different parts of this woman and find two different sets of DNA? Cause otherwise, the babies-switched-at-the-hospital suggestion seems far more plausible.

[cajungirl]

Amazing,,she gave birth to her niece!!!

[Billthedrill]

It happens in other animals - we had a Harlequin Great Dane with one blue eye and one brown one - that was the explanation the vet gave us. According to him they all are.

Pinging our resident vet...

[Plutarch]

Ouch, that had to hurt to deliver!

[Always Right]

Sons I gave birth to are 'unrelated' to me

Actually they would be related genetically, just more like a nefew instead of a son. Maybe this lady needs to be upset with her husband for having sex with her sister.

[BossLady]

Chimera Alert! Unusual story here.....

[Age of Reason]

I WONDER HOW MANY CONVICTED CRIMINALS HAVE BEEN SET FREE BECAUSE THEIR DNA DIDN'T MATCH!

Scientist have no idea how often Chimeras occur.

Perhaps being a Chimera--perhaps having mixed-up genes--makes someone more inclined to criminal behavior, and so a very high percentage of criminals might be Chimeras.

In such case, it's no wonder their DNA doesn't match the crime scene!

[eastsider]

I had one blue and one brown eye, and the doctor said it was a mineral problem. Over the years, the blue has taken over, so that only a sliver of one eye remains brown.

[cajungirl]

my daughter has one brown eye and one blue eye,,is she one of these, chimeras I mean, not great danes

[Nonstatist]

Is the woman blonde?

You mean a "real" blonde?

[MHGinTN]

Yes, and yes. This woman has cells with one specific 46 chromosome identity and living right alongside those cells, cells with a different 46 chromosome complement. What makews this possible, as I understand it, is that both sets of cells have the same histocompatibility thus are both recognized as being 'her'. [This is a function of same mitochondrial make up, since both sets of chromosomes derived from oocytes produced by her mother's body; mitochondria is passed down to each of us through the mother's gamete(s).]