The application of magnetic cell sorter (MACS) to detect fetal cells in maternal peripheral blood.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of sorting fetal nucleated red blood cells (FNRBC) from maternal peripheral blood, particularly during early gestation periods, by a combination of specific gravity centrifugation and magnetic cell sorter (MACS).


METHODS
Without prior knowledge of the gender of the fetus, we determined gender by analyzing a Y-chromosome specific sequence by nested-PCR, using 10 ml of the peripheral blood of healthy primigravida women at different stages of gestation (first trimester: n = 17, second trimester: n = 13, and third trimester: n = 19). The results of this prenatal sex determination were compared to the sex of newborns.


RESULTS
The specificity, sensitivity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of the present method during the first trimester were 100, 81.8, 100, and 75%, respectively; during the second trimester, 80, 50, 80, and 50%, respectively; and during the third trimester, 25, 63.6, 53.8, and 33.3%, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
The results show that this prenatal sex determination method has a highly accurate diagnostic rate during the first trimester, suggesting that it could be developed as a practical, non-invasive prenatal diagnostic technique for use during early gestation periods.
Fukushima
A
A
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Iwate Medical University, Morioka, Japan.
Utsugisawa
Y
Y
Wada
Y
Y
Mizusawa
N
N
Horiuchi
S
S
Kagabu
T
T
D002469:Cell Separation / Q000379:methods*; D015252:Deoxyribonucleases, Type II Site-Specific; D004586:Electrophoresis; D004900:Erythroblasts / Q000166:cytology*; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000166:cytology*; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008280:Magnetics; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011247:Pregnancy; D012732:Sex Determination Analysis; D014998:Y Chromosome
D015252:Deoxyribonucleases, Type II Site-Specific; C024403:GGCC-specific type II deoxyribonucleases