Paternity testing after pregnancy termination using laser microdissection of chorionic villi.
We report an unusual case of paternity testing from residues of chorionic villi 5 weeks after pregnancy termination. The autopsy of a 32-year-old female homicide victim revealed the presence of intact chorionic villi at the former placenta implantation site. Fetal cells were selectively isolated by laser-induced microdissection of the remaining villi to avoid contamination with maternal DNA. Simultaneous amplification of 12 STR loci in 2 PCR reactions resulted in a combined probability of paternity of 99.94%. This case demonstrates that laser-assisted microdissection and multiplex STR typing provide tools for paternity testing performed on endometrial mucosa long after the product of conception was removed by therapeutic abortion.
Bauer
Martin
M
Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Würzburg, Germany. reme005@mail.uni-wuerzburg.de
Thalheimer
Andreas
A
Patzelt
Dieter
D
D000028:Abortion, Induced; D000328:Adult; D001344:Autopsy / Q000379:methods*; D015193:Chorionic Villi Sampling / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006708:Homicide; D006801:Humans; D007834:Lasers; D008297:Male; D010334:Paternity; D011247:Pregnancy; D020080:Tandem Repeat Sequences / Q000235:genetics*