Fetal cells in maternal circulation

Abstract

Advances in molecular genetics have led to prenatal DNA diagnosis. Molecular geneticists are currently using either an invasive or noninvasive approach for prenatal diagnosis. The research has been focussed in the last few years on the development of non-invasive techniques which do not harm the fetus. One such approach would be to isolate fetal cells from the maternal circulation.

Full Text

Several attempts have been made to detect and retrieve fetal nucleated cells including nucleated erythrocytes (NRBCs), leucocytes and trophoblasts in maternal blood. Fetal cells in peripheral maternal blood offer an alternative source for specimens to those obtained by invasive techniques such as amniocentesis, chorionic villus sampling and fetal blood sampling.

The non-invasive recovery of fetal cells has revolutionized fetal medicine and opened up the doors for its possible clinical application. Efforts are currently in the direction of enrichment as well as culturing of the fetal cells, and exploration of their further use in genetic analysis using FISH, PCR and PEP-PCR techniques.

We have developed a new method for non-invasive fetal DNA diagnosis from maternal blood (FDD-MB). We were successful in retrieving NRBCs from maternal blood using a micromanipulator and also in analyzing NRBCs on a single cell level by PCR, FISH and PEP-PCR. This new technique opens up fetal DNA diagnosis from maternal blood during the first trimester of pregnancy to the whole population because there is no risk to the fetus or the mother.