Culture of fetal cells from maternal blood for prenatal diagnosis.
The isolation and analysis of fetal cells from maternal blood would allow non-invasive prenatal genetic screening and diagnosis. Over the past decade, progress has been made towards this goal using various enrichment strategies and analysis by fluorescence in-situ hybridization with chromosome-specific probes and PCR. One method that is currently being explored involves culturing fetal cells. Developing conditions which allow the number of fetal-derived cells to expand in culture and the number of maternally derived cells to be suppressed in culture may lead to a new selection process for obtaining fetal cells. Culturing of fetal cells from maternal blood could make possible conventional metaphase analysis of fetal cells for diagnosis of chromosomal abnormalities.
Elicha Gussin
Hélène A
HA
University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chicago, Illinois 60612, USA.
Elias
Sherman
S
D001773:Blood Cells; D002469:Cell Separation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D004727:Endothelium / Q000166:cytology; D015672:Erythroid Precursor Cells; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000166:cytology*; D006801:Humans; D008648:Mesoderm / Q000166:cytology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis; D013234:Stem Cells