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Smoking in pregnancy is associated with increased total maternal serum cell‐free DNA levels
Author(s) -
Urato Adam C.,
Peter Inga,
Canick Jacob,
LambertMesserlian Geralyn,
Pulkkinen Andrea,
Knight George,
Jeong YoungJu,
Johnson Kirby L.,
Bianchi Diana W.
Publication year - 2008
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.1950
Subject(s) - cell free fetal dna , pregnancy , medicine , fetus , cotinine , andrology , glyceraldehyde 3 phosphate dehydrogenase , real time polymerase chain reaction , polymerase chain reaction , endocrinology , biology , dehydrogenase , prenatal diagnosis , nicotine , enzyme , biochemistry , genetics , gene
Objective Cell‐free DNA is a marker of cellular apoptosis and necrosis. We wished to determine if maternal smoking affects maternal and fetal serum cell‐free DNA levels. Methods Case–control sets of stored second‐trimester serum‐screening samples from 27 smoking and 90 nonsmoking pregnant women were developed. Smoking status was confirmed by measuring serum cotinine levels. Glyceraldehyde 3‐phosphate dehydrogenase ( GAPDH) and DYS1 levels were determined using real‐time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to measure total and fetal cell‐free DNA, respectively. At delivery, medical records were reviewed to confirm gender and determine other factors that could affect DNA values. Results Smoking was associated with significantly elevated GAPDH levels compared with nonsmokers (median: 97 662 genome equivalents (GE)/mL vs 38 217 GE/mL; p = 0.018). DYS1 levels were not statistically significantly elevated in smokers ( p = 0.29). Other factors that affected DYS1 levels included maternal age in nonsmokers only ( r 2 = 0.30, p = 0.013) and maternal Synthroid use ( p = 0.0045) Conclusion Pregnant smokers have threefold higher levels of total cell‐free DNA compared with pregnant nonsmokers. Maternal age and Synthroid exposure may also affect circulating cell‐free fetal DNA levels. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.