PubMed Health⌕ Search
Home/Archive/PubMed

PubMed · 16255630

Evolution of prenatal genetics: from point mutation testing to chromosomal microarray analysis.

Benjamin B Roa·Joseph Pulliam·Christine M Eng·Sau Wai Cheung
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Molecular genetic testing involves DNA analysis using various methods for the purpose of diagnosing genetic disorders. In the prenatal DNA diagnostic setting, fetal DNA is usually tested for a specific single-gene disorder for which the fetal risk is 25% or more. In contrast, cytogenetic testing is often used to detect fetal chromosomal abnormalities in cases that involve a wider range of indications. Classic cytogenetic and DNA-based testing methods provide a range of aberrations detected with different levels of genomic resolution. More recently developed molecular cytogenetic methods provide powerful tools to bridge the technical divide between these related areas. One such hybrid method is microarray-based comparative genomic hybridization. Chromosomal microarray analysis has been applied to clinical testing for unbalanced gains or losses of genomic regions associated with genetic disorders. This technology is poised to have a substantial impact on clinical genetics, including prenatal genetic testing.

Explore related subjects

Chromosome AberrationsDNAHumansOligonucleotide Array Sequence AnalysisPoint MutationPolymorphism, GeneticPrenatal DiagnosisJournal ArticleReview

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Benjamin B Roa, Joseph Pulliam, Christine M Eng, Sau Wai Cheung. 2005. Evolution of prenatal genetics: from point mutation testing to chromosomal microarray analysis.. https://doi.org/10.1586/14737159.5.6.883

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related citations

PubMed2007

Genome-wide oligonucleotide-based array comparative genome hybridization analysis of non-isolated congenital diaphragmatic hernia.

Non-isolated congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH+) is a severe birth defect that is often caused by de novo chromosomal anomalies. In this report, we use genome-wide oligonucleotide-based array comparative genome hybridization (aCGH) followed by rapid real-time quantitative PCR analysis to identify, confirm and map chromosomal anomalies in a cohort of 26 CDH+ patients. One hundred and five putative copy number changes were identified by aCGH in our cohort of CDH+ patients. Sixty-one of these changes (58%) had been previously described in normal controls. Twenty of the remaining 44 changes (45%) were confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR or standard cytogenetic techniques. These changes included de novo chromosomal abnormalities in five of the 26 patients (19%), two of whom had previously normal G-banded chromosome analyses. Data from these patients provide evidence for the existence of CDH-related genes on chromosomes 2q37, 6p22-25 and 14q, and refine the CDH minimal deleted region on 15q26 to an interval that contains COUP-TFII and only eight other known genes. Although COUP-TFII is likely to play a role in the development of CDH in patients with 15q26 deletions, we did not find COUP-TFII mutations in 73 CDH samples. We conclude that the combination of oligonucleotide-based aCGH and quantitative real-time PCR is an effective method of identifying, confirming and mapping clinically relevant copy number changes in patients with CDH+. This method is more sensitive than G-banded chromosome analysis and may find wide application in screening patients with congenital anomalies.

Chromosome Aberrations↗
PubMed2007

Cytogenetics detects infiltrations of a primary cutaneous acute myeloid leukemia to the kidney.

Extramedullary manifestations of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are rare and commonly involve one tissue. We report of a cutaneous acute myelomonocytic leukemia infiltrating the kidney next to the skin. A 61-year-old female patient with complex karyotype cutaneous AML FAB M4 underwent abdominal computed tomography scans. A lesion in her left kidney appeared suspicious of renal carcinoma as confirmed by histology. However, fluorescence in situ hybridization cytogenetics revealed a chromosome 11q23 abnormality in the nephrectomy specimen, which also appeared in the leukemic blasts of skin and bone marrow. Closer histomorphologic workup revealed an infiltration of the kidney with leukemia. This case report illustrates how modern diagnostic procedures can help to reveal rare sites of disease.

Chromosome Aberrations↗
PubMed2007

Genetic aspects of preeclampsia.

Preeclampsia has a familial component suggesting that one or more common alleles may act as susceptibility genes. Some families may have "private" predisposing mutations. The central role of the placenta in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia implies that fetal genes contribute to the disease process. Twin studies support the role of maternal and fetal gene interaction. Candidate gene studies have not yielded consistent results. Genome-wide linkage studies provide powerful means to study disease susceptibility genes, and several loci have been mapped. Parent-of-origin effect of the STOX1 gene has been suggested on chromosome 10q22 locus in the Dutch population. Maternally inherited missense mutations in the STOX1 gene of the fetus have been shown to co-segregate with the maternal preeclamptic phenotype. Up-regulation of placental leptin expression has been found in several studies and might be of importance in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia. DNA microarray is ideal tool for screening gene expression in preeclamptic tissues, but critical attitude is needed when interpreting the results. The placental DNA and mRNA in maternal plasma hold great promise as novel biomarkers for the prediction of preeclampsia. Finding genes prediposing to preeclampsia will enhance our understanding of the disease mechanism, and might allow identification of prognostic and therapeutic subgroups.

Chromosome Aberrations↗