title: Detection of fetal cells in maternal blood.
abstract: We report the detection of fetal cells in the maternal circulation by enzymatic amplification of a single copy gene sequence that was fetal-specific. Fetal HLA-A2-positive cells were sorted from maternal HLA-A2-negative cells by flow cytometry and confirmed by demonstration of a fetal-specific HLA-DR4 sequence. However, this sequence could not be detected in unenriched maternal DNA prepared at 28 and 32 weeks' gestation. The sensitivity of detection was 1 HLA-DR4-positive cell in 10(5) HLA-DR4-negative cells. We conclude that prenatal diagnosis of paternally inherited autosomal-dominant genetic defects may be possible by selective gene amplification of maternal peripheral blood. However, preliminary enrichment for fetal cells may be necessary.
authors.affiliation: Harris Birthright Perinatal Unit, Nuffield Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, U.K.
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Yeoh
authors.forename: I L
authors.initials: IL
authors.lastname: Sargent
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Redman
authors.forename: B P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Wordsworth
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Thein
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000166:cytology*; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D005784:Gene Amplification; D015789:HLA-A2 Antigen / Q000097:blood; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens / Q000097:blood*; D015804:HLA-DR4 Antigen / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D015789:HLA-A2 Antigen; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens; D015804:HLA-DR4 Antigen; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes