Chromosome aberrations in peripheral lymphocytes of male homosexuals

Karyotypes of peripheral lymphocytes of 19 male homosexuals showed increased hypodiploidy. Chromosomes #19 and #20 were most frequently lost. Also, structural chromosome aberrations frequently occurred consisting chiefly of translocations and simple chromosome breaks. Terminal deletions, inversions, and isochromosomes occurred less commonly. In three of the cases, 100% of the cells were involved in a pericentric inversion of a chromosome #9. Chromosomes #3 in p21.1 and 1 in p32.3 were repeatedly affected. Structural aberrations were seen less frequently in men with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome(AIDS) and AIDS-related complex than in asymptomatic homosexuals. The hypodiploidy with preferential loss of chromosomes was constantly present. The marker chromosomes and simple breaks at repeated sites are another manifestation of damage to the immune system in these male homosexuals from Greenwich Village in New York City. The chromosomal damage was potentially the result of exposure to amyl and butyl nitrites, viral infections, or immunologic reactions to sperm, which crossreact with lymphocytes.