Abstract
Complete hydatidiform mole is an abnormal human pregnancy with grossly swollen chorionic villi, usually with a 46,XX karyotype, and with a propensity to malignancy1. The XX moles originate from fertilization of an ‘empty egg’ (resulting from either enucleation or inactivation of the female pronucleus) by a haploid sperm and its subsequent duplication2,3, a process called diploid androgenesis. XY moles, although infrequent, are of special interest because their origin must differ from that of the XX moles. Two XY moles have been studied for their origin, but the results were inconclusive3,4. We describe here a study of four XY moles, and provide evidence that they result from the fertilization of an empty egg by two haploid spermatozoa.
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Ohama, K., Kajii, T., Okamoto, E. et al. Dispermic origin of XY hydatidiform moles. Nature 292, 551–552 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/292551a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/292551a0
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