title: Assessment of diagnostic quantitative fluorescent multiplex polymerase chain reaction assays performed on single cells.
abstract: We have refined polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays for the detection of sickle cell anaemia, the delta F 508 deletion causing cystic fibrosis, and the IVS1-110 mutation leading to beta thalassaemia, allowing them to be successfully performed upon single cells using fluorescent primers. We have also assessed the possibility of detecting aneuploidies of chromosomes 13, 18 and 21 using a quantitative fluorescent polymerase chain reaction (QF-PCR) with primers flanking polymorphic short tandem repeat (STR) markers. Trisomies were readily diagnosed by the detection of tri-allelic patterns. However some heterozygote normal and trisomic diallelic patterns did not produce the expected ratios of amplified PCR products due to preferential DNA sequence amplification. Total allelic drop out (ADO) did not occur with any of the cells tested. Multiplex QF-PCR assays can be performed on a single cell in under 6 h and simultaneously provide diagnosis of single gene defects, sex determination and an indication of selected chromosome aneuploidy.
authors.affiliation: Galton Laboratory, University College London, U.K.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sherlock
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cirigliano
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Petrou
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tutschek
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Adinolfi
mesh_terms: D000745:Anemia, Hemolytic, Congenital / Q000175:diagnosis*; D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000175:diagnosis; D000782:Aneuploidy; D003550:Cystic Fibrosis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D005453:Fluorescence; D006451:Hemoglobin, Sickle / Q000235:genetics; D006579:Heterozygote; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D009154:Mutation; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000379:methods*; D012732:Sex Determination Analysis; D017086:beta-Thalassemia / Q000175:diagnosis
chemical_list: D006451:Hemoglobin, Sickle