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Updated: Jan 24, 2026

Generation of Neural Stem Cells from Discarded Human Fetal Cortical Tissue
Published on: May 25, 2011
Early divergence of mutational processes in human fetal tissues
Ewart Kuijk1, Francis Blokzijl1,2, Myrthe Jager1
1Center for Molecular Medicine and Oncode Institute, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Universiteitsweg 100, 3584 CG Utrecht, Netherlands.
Abstract:
A developing human fetus needs to balance rapid cellular expansion with maintaining genomic stability. Here, we accurately quantified and characterized somatic mutation accumulation in fetal tissues by analyzing individual stem cells from human fetal liver and intestine. Fetal mutation rates were about fivefold higher than in tissue-matched adult stem cells. The mutational landscape of fetal intestinal stem cells resembled that of adult intestinal stem cells, while the mutation spectrum of fetal liver stem cells is distinct from stem cells of the fetal intestine and the adult liver. Our analyses indicate that variation in mutational mechanisms, including oxidative stress and spontaneous deamination of methylated cytosines, contributes to the observed divergence in mutation accumulation patterns and drives genetic mosaicism in humans.
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