X Inactivation Patterns of Closely, but Not Distantly, Related Cells Are Highly Correlated: Little Evidence for Stem Cell Plasticity in Normal Females

The early, random nature of X inactivation should cause related cells to have similar, but distinctive, active X chromosomes. We assessed the frequency of stem cell plasticity using X inactivation proportions (XIPs), determined at the human androgen receptor locus, in paired tissue samples from healthy individuals. Tissues sampled were stomach ( n = 18 informative females), duodenum ( n = 18), colon ( n = 10) with corresponding peripheral blood samples ( n = 33), and varicose veins ( n = 28) with corresponding T cells ( n = 26) and peripheral blood granulocytes ( n = 25). XIPs from samples thought to have common stem cell origins were highly correlated: multiple samples from single vein, r = .80 ( n = 24); T cells versus granulocytes, r = .67 ( n = 23); duodenum versus stomach, r = .63 ( n = 12). Blood cells and vessels are derived from a common hemangioblast, but XIP correlations were moderate or poor: vein versus T cells, r = .42 ( n = 26); vein versus granulocytes, r = .11 ( n = 25). X inactivation is believed to be a late process in gut, especially hind‐gut, with corresponding independence from blood precursors. Correlations with blood cells were low: stomach, r = .23 (18); duodenum, r = .21 (18); colon, r = .034 (10). Any crossover of stem cells between different organs during adult life should increase correlations with age; no such increase was seen. This study confirms that XIPs can be used to track stem cell populations, provides a theoretical basis for the power of such studies, and indicates that hemopoietic stem cell plasticity is, at most, uncommon in normal humans.