Markers for prenatal diagnosis and monitoring
Methods and kits are provided for diagnosing, monitoring, or predicting preeclaimpsia in a pregnant woman, trisomy 18 and trisomy 21 in a fetus, as well as for detecting pregnancy in a woman, by quantitatively measuring in the maternal blood the amount of one or more RNA species derived from a set of genetic loci and comparing the amount of the RNA species with a standard control.
1. A method for detecting the presence of a fetus with trisomy 21 in a pregnant woman, the method comprising the steps of:
(i) quantitatively determining the amount of PLAC4 RNA in a biological sample obtained from the pregnant woman, wherein the biological sample is plasma or serum; and
(ii) comparing the amount of the PLAC4 RNA from step (i) to a standard control representing the amount of the PLAC4 RNA in the corresponding sample from an average pregnant woman with a chromosomally normal fetus, wherein an increase in the amount of PLAC4 RNA from the standard control indicates an increased risk of having a fetus with trisomy 21.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein step (i) comprises using a reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein step (i) further comprises using mass spectrometry.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein step (i) comprises using a polynucleotide hybridization method.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein step (i) comprises using a primer extension reaction.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the woman is during the first trimester of gestation.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the woman is during the second or third trimester of gestation.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the biological sample is plasma.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the biological sample is serum.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the increase in the amount of the PLAC4 RNA from the standard control is more than 2-fold.