Premium
Fetal cells in the uterine cervix: a source for early non‐invasive prenatal diagnosis
Author(s) -
Fejgin Moshe D.,
Diukman Ron,
Cotton Yael,
Weinstein Galina,
Amiel Aliza
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
prenatal diagnosis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.956
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1097-0223
pISSN - 0197-3851
DOI - 10.1002/pd.117
Subject(s) - sexing , prenatal diagnosis , obstetrics , fetus , pregnancy , gestation , gynecology , medicine , cervix , karyotype , gestational age , chromosome , biology , cancer , genetics , gene
Various non‐invasive techniques for prenatal diagnosis have been under investigation. We evaluated the success of fetal sexing using a non‐invasive technique for obtaining fetal cells, uterine cervix brushing, in combination with FISH. Thirty pregnant women who completed between 6 and 10 weeks of gestation and who were scheduled to undergo pregnancy termination were included in the study. A Pap smear cytobrush was inserted through the external os to a maximum depth of 2 cm and removed while rotating it a full turn. The material that was caught on the brush was spread on four microscope slides. Two‐color FISH was used for fetal sexing. Following pregnancy termination, a placental sample was used for full karyotyping. In 29/30 cases FISH diagnosis was confirmed by chromosomal analysis. The only male case in which a Y chromosome was not seen was from a pregnancy of 6 weeks 6 days gestational age. One case was mosaic of 46,XY/47,XXY (25%). In most cases (7/13) the Y chromosome was already identified in the first analyzed slide. With the use of a cytobrush fetal cells can be easily obtained for the purpose of prenatal diagnosis of chromosomal disorders. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.