A study of fetal sex determination in coelomic fluid

Genetic screening and diagnosis

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

To review the latest developments in screening and diagnosis of non-chromosomal genetic diseases.

RECENT FINDINGS

Major recent advances include the completion of the Human Genome Project, the use of microarray and related technologies for mass screening and diagnosis of thousands of genetic abnormalities, and non-invasive prenatal diagnosis using fetal DNA in maternal plasma.

SUMMARY

The rapid development in molecular biological technologies makes it possible to screen and to diagnosis thousands of genetic conditions, mutations and also predispositions to chronic diseases or traits, either prenatally or after birth. Clinical application of non-invasive prenatal diagnosis using fetal DNA in maternal plasma has become a reality. The arrival of the molecular genetic era also leads to many new ethical, social and medico-legal problems and dilemmas that obstetricians will have to face in the near future. There is an urgent need for the development of a new model for provision of genetic screening and diagnosis.

Placental transfer of rosiglitazone in the first trimester of human pregnancy

OBJECTIVE

To determine the degree of placental transfer of rosiglitazone in early human pregnancy.

DESIGN

Prospective observational study.

SETTING

University teaching hospital.

PATIENT(S)

Thirty-one women undergoing surgical termination of pregnancy between 8 and 12 weeks' gestation.

INTERVENTION(S)

Each woman was given two doses of rosiglitazone (4 mg) before the procedure.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S)

Rosiglitazone concentration in fetal tissue and coelomic and amniotic fluids.

RESULT(S)

The mean maternal serum rosiglitazone concentration was 110.3 +/- 47.9 ng/mL. Rosiglitazone was detectable in 19 fetal samples (61.3%). The mean fetal tissue concentration was 52.7 +/- 26.3 ng/g. Rosiglitazone was more likely to be detected in fetal tissue if the gestation at termination was 10 weeks or more compared with earlier gestation. Coelomic fluid was obtained in 22 cases, and rosiglitazone was detected in 13 samples (59.1%). The mean concentration was 22.8 +/- 7.0 ng/mL. Rosiglitazone was detectable in only two of the 31 amniotic fluid samples, with concentrations of 10.3 and 12.6 ng/mL.

CONCLUSION(S)

The risk of placental transfer of rosiglitazone is much higher at or after 10 weeks of gestation. Absence of detectable rosiglitazone in amniotic fluid despite its presence in fetal tissue suggests that fetuses may have the ability to metabolize rosiglitazone, and little parent drug was excreted unchanged in urine.

Aspergillus oryzae GB-107 fermentation improves nutritional quality of food soybeans and feed soybean meals

This study evaluated the effect of fermentation on the nutritional quality of food-grade soybeans and feed-grade soybean meals. Soybeans and soybean meals were fermented by Aspergillus oryzae GB-107 in a bed-packed solid fermentor for 48 hours. After fermentation, their nutrient contents as well as trypsin inhibitor were measured and compared with those of raw soybeans and soybean meals. Proteins were extracted from fermented and non-fermented soybeans and soybean meals, and the peptide characteristics were evaluated after electrophoresis. Fermented soybeans and fermented soybean meals contained 10% more (P < .05) crude protein than raw soybeans and soybean meals. The essential amino acid profile was unchanged after fermentation. Fermentation eliminated (P < .05) most of the trypsin inhibitor from both soybeans and soybean meals. Fermentation increased the amount of small-size peptides (<20 kDa) (P < .05) compared with raw soybeans, while significantly decreasing large-size peptides (>60 kDa) (P < .05). Fermented soybean meal contained more (P < .01) small-size peptides (<20 kDa) than soybean meal. Fermented soybean meal did not contain large-size peptides (>60 kDa), whereas 22.1% of peptides in soybean meal were large-size (>60 kDa). Collectively, fermentation increased protein content, eliminated trypsin inhibitors, and reduced peptide size in soybeans and soybean meals. These effects of fermentation might make soy foods more useful in human diets as a functional food and benefit livestock as a novel feed ingredient.

Very early prenatal diagnosis on coelomic cells using quantitative fluorescent polymerase chain reaction

Quantitative fluorescent PCR (QF-PCR) has been shown to be an accurate assay for the rapid prenatal diagnosis of chromosome disorders. The extra-embryonic coelom develops during week 4 of gestation and it can be aspirated from the following week, making coelocentesis the earliest possible method of prenatal diagnosis after implantation. The possibility of using the QF-PCR assay performed on DNA extracted from cells present in the extra-embryonic coelom has been evaluated for the detection of aneuploidies. QF-PCR amplification using several markers for chromosomes X, Y, 21, 18 and 13 was successfully achieved on all 17 serial samples of exo-coelomic fluid (ECF), placental tissue and maternal blood. Multiplex analyses of maternal blood samples and chorionic tissues allowed the distinction of fetal from maternal patterns and, eventually, the identification of maternal contamination of the ECF samples. Prenatal detection of fetal gender was successful in all cases. When tested with autosomal primers, seven samples were found to contain exclusively fetal DNA. Eight samples contained small amounts of maternal DNA that did not interfere with the QF-PCR analysis. One fetus showed trisomy 13. QF-PCR requires very small volumes of sample compared with cell culture, suggesting that coelocentesis may prove useful for very early prenatal diagnosis.