Prenatal diagnosis of homozygous alpha-thalassemia-1 by cell-free fetal DNA in maternal plasma.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the use of cell-free fetal DNA (cff-DNA) to determine fetal status in pregnant women who were risk for having Hb Bart's.


METHODS
Plasma DNA was extracted from 10 mL of maternal blood from couples who both were alpha-thalassemia-1 carriers (SEA deletion). Real time quantitative PCR was performed using fluorescence-labeled probes to monitor wild type (wt) and SEA allele. The quantity of each allele was determined by cycle threshold (Ct). ΔCt (Ct of wt- Ct of SEA) was calculated from each sample. Prenatal diagnosis was performed to determine fetal status.


RESULTS
There were 62 Hb Bart's, 62 alpha-trait and 34 normal fetuses in this study. Mean ΔCt was 1.04 ± 0.38, 0.21 ± 0.37 and 0.14 ± 0.55 in Hb Bart's, alpha-trait and normal fetuses, respectively. Based on ROC, the best cut-off of ΔCt for predicting Hb Bart's was 0.51, giving 98.4% sensitivity and 20.8% false-positive rate. All but one Hb Bart's (98.4%) had ΔCt above 0.51, whereas 74.2% of alpha-trait and 88.2% of normal fetuses had ΔCt below 0.51.


CONCLUSIONS
There is a positive trend to use cff-DNA in maternal plasma for prenatal diagnosis of homozygous alpha-thalassemia-1. With this technique, invasive prenatal testing and complications can be avoided in 79.2% of unaffected fetuses.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand. ssiricho@med.cmu.ac.th
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S
Sirichotiyakul
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Charoenkwan
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Sanguansermsri
D000328:Adult; D004247:DNA / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood; D005865:Gestational Age; D006455:Hemoglobins, Abnormal / Q000235:genetics; D006720:Homozygote; D006801:Humans; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D011250:Pregnancy Complications, Hematologic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000379:methods*; D012372:ROC Curve; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017085:alpha-Thalassemia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics
D006455:Hemoglobins, Abnormal; D004247:DNA; C030448:hemoglobin Bart's