Large-Scale Analysis Reveals Acquisition of Lineage-Specific Chromosomal Aberrations in Human Adult Stem Cells

In this study, we assessed the genetic integrity of over 400 samples of human multipotent stem cells using gene expression data sets. Our analysis reveals that neural and mesenchymal stem cells acquire characteristic large chromosomal aberrations at a similar, or somewhat lower, frequency to that seen in pluripotent stem cells, sometimes within a few passages in culture. Some of the identified chromosomal abnormalities can also be detected in human tumors of the respective tissues.