Next generation sequencing and its applications in non-invasive prenatal testing of aneuploidies

Abstract

The development of the new generation sequencing techniques brought a new era in the field of DNA sequencing, that also revolutionized the prenatal screening for aneuploidy. In order to provide a more complete view, the authors describe some first generation methods as well as the theoretical and technical background of the next generation methods. In the second part of this review, the authors focuse on non-invasive prenatal testing, which is a fetal cell-free DNA based method requiring advanced sequencing procedures. After discussing the theoretical and technical background, the authors review current application and utility of non-invasive prenatal testing. They conclude that non-invasive prenatal testing is the most effective screening test in high risk pregnancies and its efficiency can be justified in studies involving low risk pregnancies as well.