Abstract
IntroductionA prenatal paternity test is one widely-used method of determining the paternity of an unborn child. Such tests using chorionic villus or amniocentesis may increase the risk of harm to both mother and foetus. In the present day, a prenatal paternity test using circulating cell-free fetal Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) is one alternative method due to it being non-invasive and safe for both mother and foetus.AimThe aim of this study is to detect Short Tandem Repeat (STR) at 5 Loci (vWA, TH01, D13S317, D18S51, and D21S11) and amelogenin genes in circulating cell-free fetal DNA in paternity tests.Materials and methodsForty-one samples of maternal blood were obtained from pregnant woman. Circulating free fetal DNA was subsequently extracted. A paternity test was conducted using an STR test at loci vWA, TH01, D13S317, D18S51, D21S11 in circulating free fetal DNA. An analysis of the paternity test between loci > 200 bp and < 200 bp was also conducted to establish the sensitivity of the test.ResultsThere was a significant difference between maternal blood DNA and circulating cell-free fetal DNA (p = 0.000 D13S317; p = 0.000 D21S11; p = 0.000 D18S51; p = 0.000 vWA; p = 0.000 TH01; and p = 0.000 amelogenin genes). The locus < 200 bp also had a higher sensitivity than locus > 200 bp.ConclusionCirculating free fetal DNA can be used as an alternative sample for prenatal paternity tests because of its similarity with maternal DNA.
Highlights
A prenatal paternity test is one widely-used method of determining the paternity of an unborn child
There was a significant difference between maternal blood Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) and circulating cell-free fetal DNA (p = 0.000 D13S317; p = 0.000 D21S11; p = 0.000 D18S51; p = 0.000 vWA; p = 0.000 TH01; and p = 0.000 amelogenin genes)
Circulating free fetal DNA can be used as an alternative sample for prenatal paternity tests because of its similarity with maternal DNA
Summary
A prenatal paternity test is one widely-used method of determining the paternity of an unborn child. Chorionic villus sampling carries a similar risk of miscarriage and a 1 in 3000 risk of fetal limb reduction defects, especially when performed within the first 10 weeks of gestation (Brambati et al 1992) Due to this risk, a non-invasive method of carrying out prenatal paternity tests has been developed. Circulating cell-free fetal DNA diagnostic technique is a non-invasive technique which uses circulating cell-free fetal DNA contained in maternal blood at the 8-week stage of pregnancy or later (Guo et al 2012) This technique was intended to meet the “challenge” of developing diagnostic methods in the field of gynecology obstetrics for prenatal cases mainly related to genetic disorders which have been of concern in the foeto-maternal field. This technique was first reported more than decade ago, the development of and reporting on this study remains limited (Ryan et al 2013)
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