Size Distributions of Maternal and Fetal DNA in Maternal Plasma

The discovery of fetal DNA in maternal plasma has opened up an approach for noninvasive prenatal diagnosis. Despite the rapid expansion in clinical applications, the molecular characteristics of plasma DNA in pregnant women remain unclear. We investigated the size distribution of plasma DNA in 34 no...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical chemistry (Baltimore, Md.) Md.), 2004-01, Vol.50 (1), p.88-92
Main Authors: Chan, K.C. Allen, Zhang, Jun, Hui, Angela B.Y, Wong, Nathalie, Lau, Tze K, Leung, Tse N, Lo, Kwok-Wai, Huang, Dolly W.S, Lo, Y.M. Dennis
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Chromosomes
DNA - blood
DNA - chemistry
Female
Fetus
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Genes
Humans
Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects)
Male
Medical sciences
Molecular and cellular biology
Mothers
Pathology. Cytology. Biochemistry. Spectrometry. Miscellaneous investigative techniques
Plasma
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Pregnancy
Pregnancy - blood
Reference Values
Thermal cycling
Womens health
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Summary:The discovery of fetal DNA in maternal plasma has opened up an approach for noninvasive prenatal diagnosis. Despite the rapid expansion in clinical applications, the molecular characteristics of plasma DNA in pregnant women remain unclear. We investigated the size distribution of plasma DNA in 34 nonpregnant women and 31 pregnant women, using a panel of quantitative PCR assays with different amplicon sizes targeting the leptin gene. We also determined the size distribution of fetal DNA in maternal plasma by targeting the SRY gene. The median percentages of plasma DNA with size >201 bp were 57% and 14% for pregnant and nonpregnant women, respectively (P 193 bp and >313 bp were 20% and 0%, respectively, in maternal plasma. Plasma DNA molecules are mainly short DNA fragments. The DNA fragments in the plasma of pregnant women are significantly longer than those in the plasma of nonpregnant women, and the maternal-derived DNA molecules are longer than the fetal-derived ones.
ISSN:0009-9147
1530-8561
DOI:10.1373/clinchem.2003.024893