Quantitative analysis of cell-free fetal DNA levels in maternal plasma with DOWN syndrome and normal pregnancies

Objective To investigate the application of real-time quantitative PCR in quantification of cell-free fetal DNA maternal plasma in patients bearing fetuses affected with DOWN syndrome. Methods Cell-free fetal DNA in maternal serum was isolated from 30 samples(7 male DOWN syndrome fetal ,3 female DOWN syndrome fe-tal,14 male euploid fetal,6 female euploid fetal). Cell-free fetal DNA levels in maternal serum were measured using real-time quantitative PCR using SRY as marker. Results The median cell-free fetal DNA levels in pregnant carry-ing male fetuses(n=7) and the controls (pregnant carrying male euploid fetuses,n=14)were 318.03±96.74 ge-nome-equivalents/ml and 154.40±39.43 genome-equivalents/ml of maternal serum,respectively (t=3.33,P=0.004 ),which was o in women with female fetuses. Conclusion The cell-free fetal DNA levels in pregnant women with DOWN syndrome fetuses are higher than that in pregnant women with normal fetuses. Key words: Cell-free fetal DNA;  DOWN syndrome;  Real-time quantitative PCR