title: Prenatal diagnosis of neural-tube defects with a monoclonal antibody specific for acetylcholinesterase.
abstract: An immunoassay for acetylcholinesterase (AChE), based on a monoclonal antibody (AE-2), gave the following results when applied to a panel of amniotic fluids: (a) among 651 samples with normal outcome and normal alphafetoprotein (AFP) values there were 2 (0.31%) false positives; (b) of 9 samples with normal outcome and raised AFP values 1 had a raised AChE titre; (c) all 48 samples from anencephaly cases had raised AChE values; (d) among 49 samples from open spina bifida cases (2 of which had normal AFP values), 48 had raised AChE titres. It is suggested that a monoclonal-antibody-based immunoassay may displace polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic analysis of AChE as a complementary test to AFP in prenatal diagnosis of neural-tube defects, since it is a quantitative test largely independent of operator skill and experience.
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Brock
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Barron
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: van Heyningen
mesh_terms: D000110:Acetylcholinesterase / Q000032:analysis*; D000653:Amniotic Fluid / Q000201:enzymology*; D000757:Anencephaly / Q000175:diagnosis; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D004796:Clinical Enzyme Tests / Q000379:methods*; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay / Q000379:methods; D008591:Meningomyelocele / Q000175:diagnosis; D009436:Neural Tube Defects / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000379:methods*; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins; D000110:Acetylcholinesterase