title: A new marker set that identifies fetal cells in maternal circulation with high specificity.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Fetal cells from the maternal circulation (FCMBs) have the potential to replace cells from amniotic fluid or chorionic villi in a diagnosis of common chromosomal aneuploidies. Good markers for enrichment and identification are lacking.
  
  
  METHODS
  Blood samples from 78 normal pregnancies were used for testing the marker-set CD105 and CD141 for fetal cell enrichment. Fetal cell candidates were subsequently stained by a cocktail of cytokeratin antibodies, and the gender of the fetal cells was explored by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) of the X and Y chromosomes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fetal cell candidates could be detected in 91% of the samples, and in 85% of the samples, it was possible to obtain X and Y chromosomal FISH results for gender determination. The concordance between gender determined by FISH on fetal cells in maternal blood and gender found at birth reached 100% if three or more fetal cells with FISH signals could be found in a sample.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The marker set identifies fetal cells with specificity high enough to make cell-based noninvasive prenatal diagnosis realistic.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Genetics, Vejle Hospital, University of Southern Denmark, Vejle, Denmark; FCMB ApS, Vejle, Denmark.
authors.forename: Lotte
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hatt
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brinch
authors.forename: Ripudaman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Kristine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Møller
authors.forename: Rune Hoff
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Lauridsen
authors.forename: Jacob Mørup
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Schlütter
authors.forename: Niels
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Uldbjerg
authors.forename: Britta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Christensen
authors.forename: Steen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kølvraa
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D001773:Blood Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000166:cytology*; D006403:Hematologic Tests; D006801:Humans; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D007633:Keratins / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000097:blood*; D011261:Pregnancy Trimester, First / Q000097:blood; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000379:methods*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012732:Sex Determination Analysis / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D007633:Keratins