KaryoTap-based scDNA seq assessment of aneuploidy induction by hydroquinone in hematopoietic stem cells

Hydroquinone exposure did not reproducibly increase whole-chromosome aneuploidy in primary human CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, unlike reversine, across three donors.

• Why it matters: Prior evidence linking benzene metabolite hydroquinone to chromosome 7 loss relied on FISH in small cell numbers, leaving uncertainty about whether aneuploidy increases broadly and reproducibly.
• What they did: Using KaryoTap single-cell DNA sequencing with copy number across all 22 autosomes plus interphase FISH, the study tested hydroquinone at up to 20 uM and compared cord blood and adult mobilized CD34+ cells, with reversine as a positive control.
• The result: Reversine increased whole-chromosome gains and losses, including chromosome 7, but hydroquinone showed no reproducible aneuploidy rise; in one cord blood donor chromosome 7 loss was modest and unreproduced, and in the other donor the upper bound was ~1.4 percentage points.

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