A case of placental trisomy 18 mosaicism causing a false negative NIPT result

Cell-free DNA test for pathogenic copy number variations: A retrospective study

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the detection rate (DR) by prenatal cell-free DNA test for pathogenic copy number variations (CNVs)＞2 Mb among pregnancies with fetal ultrasound abnormalities.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This was a retrospective study on 29 pregnant women with fetuses diagnosed as microdeletion/microduplication syndromes by prenatal chromosome microarray analysis (CMA). Cell-free DNA from the maternal plasma was sequenced on the NextSeq CN500 sequencer. The quality standard of unique map reads in a single sample was greater than 10 M and only gains and losses of more than 2 Mb were reported.

RESULTS

A total of 24 CNVs were identified by cell-free DNA test among the 21 fetuses with pathogenic CNVs identified by prenatal CMA, including 20 consistent CNVs and 4 inconsistent CNVs. Overall, the DR of cell-free DNA test for pathogenic CNVs ＞2 Mb was 69%. Microdeletions or microduplications at 22q11.2 were the most common CNVs, with a DR of 4/5 (80%) and 3/4 (75%) respectively.

CONCLUSION

Cell-free DNA test exhibited a moderate DR for pathogenic CNVs ＞2 Mb among fetuses with ultrasound abnormalities. Cell-free DNA test could provide an opportunity for early screening before the appearance of abnormalities on fetal ultrasound, while further clinical data and cost-effectiveness assessment are needed.

Fetomaternal microchimerism and genetic diagnosis: On the origins of fetal cells and cell-free fetal DNA in the pregnant woman

During pregnancy several types of fetal cells and fetal stem cells, including pregnancy-associated progenitor cells (PAPCs), traffic into the maternal circulation. Whereas they also migrate to various maternal organs and adopt the phenotype of the target tissues to contribute to regenerative processes, fetal cells also play a role in the pathogenesis of maternal diseases. In addition, cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) is detectable in the plasma of pregnant women. Together they constitute the well-known phenomenon of fetomaternal microchimerism, which inspired the concept of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) using maternal blood. An in-depth knowledge concerning the origins of these fetal cells and cffDNA allows a more comprehensive understanding of the biological relevance of fetomaternal microchimerism and has implications for the ongoing expansion of resultant clinical applications.

Impact of ultrasonography on identifying noninvasive prenatal screening false-negative aneuploidy

Background

To evaluate the impact of ultrasonography on identifying noninvasive prenatal screening (NIPS) false‐negative aneuploidy.

Methods

Analysis of large population‐based NIPS false‐negative aneuploidy data comprising karyotypes, clinical outcomes, and ultrasound results.

Results

From December 2010 to July 2018, a total of 3,320,457 pregnancies were screened by NIPS performed in BGI; among them, 69 NIPS false‐negative aneuploidy cases with informed consent were confirmed, and ultrasound examination data for 48 cases were not available. Of the 21 cases with ultrasound results, 19 (90.5%) had various abnormalities on ultrasound, and two (9.5%) cases were shown to be normal on ultrasound. Additionally, six of seven live‐born fetuses (approximately 85.7%) were found to have abnormalities on ultrasound. Ventricular septal defects constituted the most frequently observed ultrasound abnormality type among the 21 NIPS false‐negative aneuploidy cases.

Conclusion

Application of NIPS has increased rapidly worldwide and now accounts for a large proportion of prenatal screening tests in China. This study suggests that ISUOG guideline should be followed practically, and structural abnormal ultrasound findings should not be neglected, even when NIPS produces a negative result. Combining NIPS with an ultrasound examination can further reduce the incidence of live births with aneuploidy.

A gradual change of chromosome mosaicism from placenta to fetus leading to T18 false negative result by NIPS

BACKGROUND

Noninvasive prenatal screening (NIPS) has higher sensitivity and specificity compared to traditional prenatal screening. Nevertheless, the discordant results between the NIPS and prenatal diagnosis were occasionally reported. In current study, we investigated the genetic basis of a T18 fetus with a discordant trisomy 5 (T5) positive and trisomy 18 (T18) negative NIPS result.

METHODS

NIPS was used to detect fetal DNA in maternal circulating plasma based on semiconductor sequencing platform. The aneuploidies of the fetus and different part of placental tissues were investigated by copy number variation sequencing (CNV-seq) and chromosome microarray analysis (CMA).

RESULTS

The positive result of T5 was detected for the pregnant woman in NIPS, while T18 was found in the fetal karyotyping analysis after amniocentesis. Furthermore, placental mosaicism of T5 and T18 was found by CNV-seq and CMA, which revealed the mosaic ratio of T5 was gradually increased from umbilical cord to the placenta center, while that of T18 was gradually decreased.

CONCLUSION

For the reason of cell-free fetal DNA (cff DNA) in the maternal circulation originates from trophoblast cells of placenta, the level of placental mosaicism could cause false negative NIPS result in multiple aneuploidies. The present study proved that a discordant T5 positive and T18 negative NIPS result was caused by placental mosaicism. This study highlights placental mosaicism as a significant risk factor for discordant NIPS results. The result will be helpful for genetic counseling and clinical management of such pregnant woman.