Plasma DNA aberrations in systemic lupus erythematosus revealed by genomic and methylomic sequencing.

We performed a high-resolution analysis of the biological characteristics of plasma DNA in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients using massively parallel genomic and methylomic sequencing. A number of plasma DNA abnormalities were found. First, aberrations in measured genomic representations (MGRs) were identified in the plasma DNA of SLE patients.

Size-based molecular diagnostics using plasma DNA for noninvasive prenatal testing.

Noninvasive prenatal testing using fetal DNA in maternal plasma is an actively researched area. The current generation of tests using massively parallel sequencing is based on counting plasma DNA sequences originating from different genomic regions. In this study, we explored a different approach that is based on the use of DNA fragment size as a diagnostic parameter.

Noninvasive prenatal diagnosis of congenital adrenal hyperplasia using cell-free fetal DNA in maternal plasma.

Context: Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is an autosomal recessive condition that arises from mutations in CYP21A2 gene, which encodes for the steroidogenic enzyme 21-hydroxylase. To prevent genital ambiguity in affected female fetuses, prenatal treatment with dexamethasone must begin on or before gestational week 9. Currently used chorionic villus sampling and amniocentesis provide genetic results at approximately 14 weeks of gestation at the earliest.

Non-invasive prenatal testing using cell-free fetal DNA in maternal circulation.

The identification of cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) in maternal circulation has made non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) possible. Maternal plasma cell free DNA is a mixture of maternal and fetal DNA, of which, fetal DNA represents a minor population in maternal plasma. Therefore, methods with high sensitivity and precision are required to detect and differentiate fetal DNA from the large background of maternal DNA.

Noninvasive twin zygosity assessment and aneuploidy detection by maternal plasma DNA sequencing.

Objective: This study aimed to provide an individualized assessment of fetal trisomy 21 and trisomy 18 status for twin pregnancies by maternal plasma DNA sequencing.

Method: Massively parallel sequencing was performed on the plasma/serum DNA libraries of eight twin pregnancies and 11 singleton pregnancies. The apparent fractional fetal DNA concentrations between genomic regions were assessed to determine the zygosities of the twin pregnancies and to calculate the fetal DNA concentrations of each individual member of dizygotic twin pairs.

Noninvasive prenatal determination of twin zygosity by maternal plasma DNA analysis.

Background: The current methods for distinguishing the zygosities of twins include ultrasound scanning, which is nondefinitive, and amniocentesis, which is invasive. We explored the use of massively parallel sequencing of maternal plasma DNA for the noninvasive prenatal assessment of the zygosities of twin pregnancies.

Methods: Plasma DNA was extracted from blood collected from 8 women pregnant with twins.

Cancer genome scanning in plasma: detection of tumor-associated copy number aberrations, single-nucleotide variants, and tumoral heterogeneity by massively parallel sequencing.

Background: Tumor-derived DNA can be found in the plasma of cancer patients. In this study, we explored the use of shotgun massively parallel sequencing (MPS) of plasma DNA from cancer patients to scan a cancer genome noninvasively.

Methods: Four hepatocellular carcinoma patients and a patient with synchronous breast and ovarian cancers were recruited.

FetalQuant: deducing fractional fetal DNA concentration from massively parallel sequencing of DNA in maternal plasma.

Motivation: The fractional fetal DNA concentration is one of the critical parameters for non-invasive prenatal diagnosis based on the analysis of DNA in maternal plasma. Massively parallel sequencing (MPS) of DNA in maternal plasma has been demonstrated to be a powerful tool for the non-invasive prenatal diagnosis of fetal chromosomal aneuploidies. With the rapid advance of MPS technologies, the sequencing cost per base is dramatically reducing, especially when using targeted MPS.

Noninvasive prenatal diagnosis of monogenic diseases by targeted massively parallel sequencing of maternal plasma: application to β-thalassemia.

Background: A genomewide genetic and mutational profile of a fetus was recently determined via deep sequencing of maternal plasma DNA. This technology could have important applications for noninvasive prenatal diagnosis (NIPD) of many monogenic diseases. Relative haplotype dosage (RHDO) analysis, a core step of this procedure, would allow one to elucidate the maternally inherited half of the fetal genome.

Noninvasive prenatal diagnosis of fetal trisomy 21 by allelic ratio analysis using targeted massively parallel sequencing of maternal plasma DNA.

Background: Plasma DNA obtained from a pregnant woman contains a mixture of maternal and fetal DNA. The fetal DNA proportion in maternal plasma is relatively consistent as determined using polymorphic genetic markers across different chromosomes in euploid pregnancies. For aneuploid pregnancies, the observed fetal DNA proportion measured using polymorphic genetic markers for the aneuploid chromosome would be perturbed.

Prenatal assessment of fetal chromosomal and genetic disorders through maternal plasma DNA analysis.

The existence of cell free DNA derived from the fetus in the plasma of pregnant women was first demonstrated in 1997. This discovery offered the possibility of non-invasive sampling of fetal genetic material simply through the collection of a maternal blood sample. Such cell free fetal DNA molecules in the maternal circulation have subsequently been shown to originate from the placenta and could be detected from about 7 weeks of gestation.

Targeted massively parallel sequencing of maternal plasma DNA permits efficient and unbiased detection of fetal alleles.

Background: Massively parallel sequencing has recently been used in noninvasive prenatal diagnosis. The current costs of this technology are still relatively expensive, however, and sample throughput is still relatively low when it is used as a molecular diagnostic tool. Rather than nonselectively sequencing the genome, target enrichment provides a logical approach for more efficient and cost-effective massively parallel sequencing because it increases the proportion of informative data from the targeted region(s).