Production and properties of mouse trisomy 15 ⟷ diploid chimeras

Abstract

Mouse trisomy 15 ⟷ 2n aggregation chimeras have been produced and analyzed at 19 days of gestation. We have found that these chimeras are viable and in most instances normal in external appearance, unlike trisomy (Ts)‐15 embryos which are severely growthretarded and die midway through gestation. Trisomic cells were found in all tissues of fetal chimeras, with proportions not significantly different from those of the controls in kidney, heart, liver, and brain, but significantly reduced in thymus and spleen. Ts‐15 cells do not, therefore, exhibit a proliferative advantage during fetal development of tissues susceptible to Ts‐15‐related lymphoid malignancies. However, the presence of Ts‐15 cells in the placenta may be associated with placental overgrowth. One fetus containing a monosomy 3 cell population was also observed, the first term fetal chimera with monosomic cells that has been detected.