Korean J Obstet Gynecol.  2002 Oct;45(10):1821-1826.

The analysis of fetal gender and BclI polymorphism with fetal cells in maternal blood

• Choe J
• Choi YM
• Hwang DY
• Park SH
• Jeon HW
• Bae KB

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
We used nucleated erythrocytes in maternal blood for prenatal determination of the fetal gender as the preliminary experiment for the screening of fetal genetic status and the BclI DNA polymorphism in an attempt to clarify the origin of erythrocytes in maternal blood.
METHODS
In seventeen pregnant women, venous blood was withdrawn and the nucleated erythrocytes were recovered by magnetic activated cell sorting (MACS) and immunostaining. After isolation of nucleated erythrocytes by micromanipulation, we performed nested PCR for amelogenin gene to identify the fetal gender and performed BclI DNA polymorphism to clarify the origin of erythrocytes.
RESULTS
We could amplify the minute DNA in a single cell by primer extension preamplification and nested PCR of amelogenin gene in 94 (48.7%) cells and could identify the fetal gender by 58.8%. BclI DNA polymorphism revealed that the several cells, which did not reveal the specific band of Y chromosome in spite of the pregnancy of male fetuses, must be the cells from mother.
CONCLUSION
Through this study, we could conclude that several nucleated erythrocytes in maternal blood circulation can originate from mother, therefore we must develop the new method to identify the nucleated erythrocyte of fetal origin. Considering that we must apply for the larger number of pregnant women to screen, the procedure was multi-step and complex. Therefore, we must design the new scheme to utilize the nucleated erythrocytes in maternal blood.

Keyword

nucleated erythrocytes; fetal gender; BclI DNA polymorphism; polymerase chain reaction

MeSH Terms

Amelogenin
Blood Circulation
DNA
Erythroblasts
Erythrocytes
Female
Fetus
Humans
Male
Mass Screening
Micromanipulation
Mothers
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Pregnancy
Pregnant Women
Y Chromosome
Amelogenin
DNA