title: Quantification of maternal serum cell-free fetal DNA in early-onset preeclampsia.
abstract: The aim of this study was to determine whether the increased serum cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) level of gravidas developed into early-onset preeclampsia (EOPE) subsequently in the early second trimesters is related to prenatal screening markers. Serum was collected from 1011 gravidas. The level of cffDNA and prenatal screening markers were analyzed in 20 cases with EOPE and 20 controls. All fetuses were male. The maternal serum cffDNA level was assessed by ampliﬁcation of the Y chromosome speciﬁc gene. Correlations between the variables were examined. (Logged) cffDNA in EOPE (median, 3.08; interquartile range, 2.93-3.68) was higher than controls (median, 1.79; interquartile range, 1.46-2.53). The increased level of (logged) cffDNA was correlated signiﬁcantly with the increased human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) level (r = 0.628, p < 0.001). Significant reciprocal correlations between cffDNA and babies' birth weight as well as gestation weeks at delivery were noted (r = -0.516, p = 0.001; r = -0.623, p < 0.001, respectively). The sensitivity and speciﬁcity of cffDNA to discriminate between the EOPE cases and the controls were 90% and 85%, respectively. CffDNA is a potential marker for EOPE, which had a significant reciprocal correlation with babies' birth weight and gestation weeks at delivery. Moreover, it may help in indicating the underlying hypoxic condition in the placenta.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China. yuhong650325@sina.com.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Yanting
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Qinyu
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.forename: Youji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Dongyan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Qiao
authors.forename: Mulan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Jianqiong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers; D041322:Chromosomes, Human, Y; D004247:DNA / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000097:blood*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D004247:DNA