mRNA of Placental Origin Is Readily Detectable in Maternal Plasma

The discovery of circulating fetal nucleic acid in maternal plasma has opened up new possibilities for noninvasive prenatal diagnosis. Thus far, a gender- and polymorphism-independent fetal-specific target that can be used for prenatal screening and monitoring in all pregnant women has not been repo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2003-04, Vol.100 (8), p.4748-4753
Main Authors: Enders K. O. Ng, Nancy B. Y. Tsui, Lau, Tze K., Leung, Tse N., Rossa W. K. Chiu, Panesar, Nirmal S., Lydia C. W. Lit, Chan, Kam-Wing, Y. M. Dennis Lo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Base Sequence
Biological Sciences
Biological Transport, Active
Blood
Blood plasma
DNA
DNA Primers - genetics
Female
Fetus - metabolism
Fetuses
Gene Expression Profiling
Gestational Age
Humans
Maternal-Fetal Exchange - genetics
Medical research
Messenger RNA
Nucleic acids
Placenta
Placenta - metabolism
Placental Lactogen - genetics
Plasma
Plasma stability
Pregnancy
Prenatal Diagnosis
Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
Ribonucleic acid
RNA
RNA Stability
RNA, Messenger - blood
RNA, Messenger - genetics
RNA, Messenger - metabolism
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Summary:The discovery of circulating fetal nucleic acid in maternal plasma has opened up new possibilities for noninvasive prenatal diagnosis. Thus far, a gender- and polymorphism-independent fetal-specific target that can be used for prenatal screening and monitoring in all pregnant women has not been reported. In addition, the origin of such circulating nucleic acid has remained unclear. Here we provide direct evidence that the placenta is an important source of fetal nucleic acid release into maternal plasma by demonstrating that mRNA transcripts from placenta-expressed genes are readily detectable in maternal plasma. The surprising stability of such placental mRNA species in maternal plasma and their rapid clearance after delivery demonstrate that such circulating mRNA molecules are practical markers for clinical use. The measurement of such plasma mRNA markers has provided a gender-independent approach for noninvasive prenatal gene expression profiling and has opened up numerous research and diagnostic possibilities.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.0637450100