Androgenetic/biparental mosaicism in an infant with hepatic mesenchymal hamartoma and placental mesenchymal dysplasia

Androgenetic/biparental mosaicism, in which a subset of cells has complete paternal uniparental disomy, is associated with placental mesenchymal dysplasia (PMD), which is compatible with fetal development, indicating that fetal organs could also have androgenetic/biparental mosaicism, but few cases of somatic mosaicism have been described. A hepatic mesenchymal hamartoma (HMH) was resected from an otherwise healthy, nondysmorphic, 11-month-old girl, whose prenatal development was complicated by PMD. Placenta, HMH, histologically normal liver, and other tissues were examined for androgenetic/biparental mosaicism by analysis of (1) polymorphic DNA microsatellite markers, (2) the methylation status of an imprinted gene, SNRPN, and (3) immunohistochemically detectable protein products of the imprinted genes p57KIP2 and PHLDA2. The patient's liver, HMH, and 1 placental sample demonstrated an increased ratio of paternal to maternal alleles, indicating androgenetic/biparental mosaicism. The androgenetic component comprised 26% to 60% of the cells. Other tissues, including a 2nd placental sample, white blood cells, umbilical cord, and abdominal fascia, had no detectable androgenetic component. Methylation analysis confirmed a relative excess of the paternally imprinted SNRPN homolog in the normal liver, HMH, and placenta. Placental p57KIP2 immunoreactivity was consistent with androgenetic/biparental mosaicism, but neither p57KIP2 nor PHLDA2 immunohistochemistry were informative for HMH, because neither antigen was detected in control liver samples. We report androgenetic/biparental mosaicism in nonplacental tissues of an infant with PMD and provide the 1st description of genome-wide paternal uniparental disomy in HMH. Androgenetic/biparental mosaicism appears to play a role in the pathogenesis of HMH and other somatic lesions, particularly those associated with PMD.