Possible human chimera detected prenatally after in vitro fertilization: a case report.

BACKGROUND

Chimerism is the coexistence of more than one cell line in an individual, due to the fusion of originally separate zygotes. It has been very rarely described in humans.

METHODS

A 36-year-old woman who was referred for in vitro fertilization (IVF) for unexplained infertility had three embryos transferred.

RESULTS

Four weeks and five days after the transfer, ultrasound examination detected a single fetus in the uterus. Ultrasound examination at 17 weeks for metrorrhagia showed severe intrauterine growth retardation. Amniocentesis revealed a mixture of 46,XY and 46,XX clones. Histopathologic examination showed a dysmorphic fetus with female phenotype and severe growth retardation.

CONCLUSIONS

Although demonstration by fingerprinting has not been possible, fusion of two of the three transferred embryos (one male and one female) seems to be the most probable mechanism that could explain both cytogenetic and histopathologic observations. No chimera has yet been described after IVF. It would be interesting to collect any such observations from other IVF centers.