Usefulness of automated chromatography for rapid fetal blood analysis for second trimester prenatal diagnosis of beta-thalassemia.
Prenatal diagnosis of beta-thalassemia is now ideally done in the first trimester of pregnancy by chorionic villus tissue DNA analysis. Nevertheless, fetal blood analysis in the second trimester is required either when the mutation in both parents cannot be characterised or when the couple comes late for investigations. We evaluated the usefulness of analysis of fetal blood on the Biorad Variant Hemoglobin Testing System using the beta-thalassemia short programme in comparison with the conventional globin biosynthesis in 58 pregnancies. The beta/alpha biosynthesis ratios in 13 homozygous fetuses ranged from 0 to 0.03 and the adult hemoglobin (HbA) levels by automated chromatography varied from 0% to 0.4%. The normal or heterozygous fetuses had beta/alpha ratios of >0.04 and HbA levels ranging from 2.1% to 10.6%. In 17 fetuses we also correlated the beta gene mutations with the predicted genotypes using automated high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Follow-up of 18 unaffected fetuses using the Variant System at birth showed a significant increase in HbA levels.
Wadia
Mahrukh R
MR
Institute of Immunohaematology (ICMR), KEM Hospital Campus, Mumbai 400 012, India.
Phanasgaokar
Supriya P
SP
Nadkarni
Anita H
AH
Surve
Reema R
RR
Gorakshakar
Ajit C
AC
Colah
Roshan B
RB
Mohanty
Dipika
D
D001322:Autoanalysis; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000737:chemistry*; D005865:Gestational Age; D005914:Globins / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D006441:Hemoglobin A / Q000032:analysis; D006579:Heterozygote; D006720:Homozygote; D006801:Humans; D009154:Mutation; D011247:Pregnancy; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000379:methods*; D017086:beta-Thalassemia / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics
D005914:Globins; D006441:Hemoglobin A