Trophoblasts isolated from the maternal circulation: in vitro expansion and potential application in non-invasive prenatal diagnosis. |
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Authors: | Esther Guetta Liat Gutstein-Abo Gad Barkai |
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Affiliation: | Danek Gertner Institute of Human Genetics, Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Israel 52621. Esther.Guetta@sheba.health.gov.il |
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Abstract: | Prenatal diagnosis based on rare fetal cells in maternal blood is currently not a feasible option. An effort was made to improve cell yields by targeting trophoblast cells. After sorting, the HLA-G-positive cell fraction was analyzed directly or after culture. In situ hybridization technology was applied to prove fetal cell source in samples from women carrying a male fetus and to predict gender in samples without previous knowledge of fetal sex. In vitro culture led to a significant increase in fetal cells and accurate gender prediction in 93% of these samples. This approach might be useful for non-invasive prenatal diagnosis. |
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