• Journal of Genetic Medicine
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.56-62
• /
• 2014

Purpose: To assess the outcomes of increased fetal nuchal translucency (NT), to aid in prenatal counseling and management in our practice. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients who underwent first trimester fetal karyotyping using chorionic villi sampling (CVS) and second trimester level II sonography for a fetal NT thickness ${\geq}3.0mm$ between 11 weeks and 13 weeks 6 days' gestation, at Gyeongsang National University Hospital. Pediatric medical records and a telephone interview were used to follow-up live-born children. Exclusion criteria included incomplete data and CVS for other indications. Results: Seventy cases met the inclusion criteria (median NT thickness, 4.7 mm; range, 3.0-16.1 mm). Twenty-nine cases (41.4%) were aneuploid. The prevalence of chromosomal defects increased with NT thickness: NT 3.0-3.4 mm, 16.7%; NT 3.5-4.4 mm, 27.3%; NT 4.5-5.4 mm, 66.7%; NT 5.5-6.4 mm, 37.5%; NT ${\geq}6.5mm$, 62.5%. The most common karyotype abnormality was trisomy 18 (n=12), followed by trisomy 21 (n=9). In chromosomally normal fetuses (n=41), fetal death occurred in 2 cases (4.9%), and structural malformations were found in 11 cases (26.8%). In chromosomally and anatomically normal fetuses (n=28), one child had neurodevelopmental delay (3.6%). Twenty-eight infants who had a prenatal increased NT were alive and well at follow-up (40%). Conclusion: Outcomes of increased fetal NT might help inform prenatal counseling and management. The high prevalence of chromosomal defects associated with increased fetal NT implies that CVS should be performed in the first trimester, particularly considering the stress associated with an uncertain diagnosis.

• 대한생식의학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2003.12a
• /
• pp.147-148
• /
• 2003

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
• /
• v.2 no.1
• /
• pp.23-26
• /
• 1998

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is an autosomal dominant neuromuscular disorder which has been clinically shown to cause progressive weakness and result in atrophy of the facial muscles, shoulder girdle and upper arm muscles. The responsible gene for the FSHD has been located on chromosome 4q35-qter. The probes p13E-11 and pFR-1 detect DNA rearrangements associated with FSHD as under 28 kb DNA fragment in genomic southern analysis digested with EcoRI and the fragment contains 3.3 kb Kpn I tandem repeats. In this study, 4 fetuses with a family history of FSHD were analysed by genomic southern hybridization analysis with probes to determine whether they carried the deleted region. Of the 4 fetuses, three of them had mothers who were FSHD patients and the other one had a father affected with FSHD. After 10-11 weeks of gestation, we performed chorionic villi sampling and extracted DNA from uncultured and cultured tissue cells for the direct DNA analysis. The result of the southern analysis showed two fetuses having received about 15-18 kb of deleted genes from the father and the mother respectively, and found to be FSHD patients. The other two fetuses were shown to have two normal alleles from the parents and found to be normal. Two pregnancies which were determined to be normal were carried to term delivering two healthy babies.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
• /
• v.30 no.3
• /
• pp.233-240
• /
• 2003

연구목적: 본 연구에서는 정상 환자와 습관성 유산 질환 환자에서 유래된 융모막 조직 내에서의 면역억제유전자들의 발현 양상에 대해 알아보고자 하였다. 연구재료 및 방법: 임신 6주와 8주의 습관성 유산 질환 환자와 정상 환자로부터 융모막 조직을 채취하였다 (Normal N=6; RSA N=6). 면역조직화학적 분석을 통해서 조직을 관찰하고 세포가 살아있음을 확인한 후에, 역전사 중합효소연쇄반응을 통해서 면역억제유전자인 placenta protein 14 (PP14), indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenase (IDO) 그리고 mucin1 (MUC1) 유전자의 발현 정도를 비교하였다. GAPDH 발현에 기준한 면역억제유전자 발현을 정량 분석하여 Student's t-test를 시행하였고, p<0.05를 유의성이 있는 것으로 판정하였다. 결 과: 습관성 유산 질환 환자의 경우, 임신 6주와 8주의 융모막 조직에서의 면역억제유전자 (PP14, IDO, MUC1) 발현이 현저하게 낮은 양상을 보이고 있었다. 습관성 유산과 면역억제유전자의 발현이 통계학적으로 유의성 있는 연관성을 가지고 있다는 것이 확인되었다. 결 론: 면역억제유전자 (PP14, IDO, MUC1)의 발현이 습관성 유산 질환 환자에서 특이적으로 낮게 나타나는 것으로 보아 습관성 유산 질환의 진단과 치료 연구 방안에 이 유전자들의 발현이 이용될 수 있을 것으로 사료된다.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.131-135
• /
• 1994

A 27-year-old pregnant woman who had one son with mental and growh retardation and dysmorphic features, was referred for genetic counselling. Cytogenetic investigations revealed 4/22 translocation in the mother(46, XX, t(4;22)(p14;P11)), partial trisomy 4p in son(46, XY, -22, +der(22), t(4;22)(p14;p11)mat). The father had normal karyotype. Amniocentesis and chorionic villi sampling were performed in 3 successive pregnancies. The karyotypes of fetus in 3rd, 4th pregnancies by amniocentesis were 46, XX, t(4;22)(p14;p11) and 46, XX, t(4;22) (p14;p11), and the karyotype of fetus in 5th pregnancy by chorionic villi sampling was found to be 46, XX, -22, +der(22) t(4;22)(p14;p11)mat. We report 3 succesive prenatally diagnosed familial partial trisomy 4p and 4/22 translocation of maternal origin with review of literature.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Inherited Metabolic disease
• /
• v.5 no.1
• /
• pp.94-107
• /
• 2005

Prenatal diagnosis (PND) such as amniocentesis or chorionic villi sampling has been widely used in order to prevent the birth of babies with defects especially in families with single gene disorderor chromosomal abnormalities. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) has already become an alternative to traditional PND. Indications for PGD have expanded beyond those practices in PND (chromosomal abnormalities, single gene defects), such as late-onset diseases with genetic predisposition, and HLA typing for stem cell transplantation to affected sibling. After in vitro fertilization, the biopsied blastomere from the embryo is analyzed for single gene defect or chromosomal abnormality. The unaffected embryos are selected for transfer to the uterine cavity. Therefore, PGD has an advantage over PND as it can avoid the risk of pregnancy termination. In this review, PGD will be introduced and application of PGD in inborn error metabolic disorder will be discussed.

• 대한생식의학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2002.11a
• /
• pp.15-21
• /
• 2002

In order to keep the normal pregnancy, a number of gene products are required at the feto-matemal interface. We have isolated approximately 30 genes, involved in keeping the normal pregnancy, via subtractive hybridization and RT-PCR analyses of cDNAs from the chorionic villi of normal and RPL patients. Characterizing their functions will help us to understand the process of establishing and maintaining pregnancy. In addition, more detailed studies of their expression in normal and RPL patients are required to evaluate their clinical relevance. Further identification of genes aberrantly expressed in RPL patients will help the prognosis of the pregnancy, identifying pregnancies with a high risk of miscarriage and enabling management of those pregnancies.

• 대한생식의학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2002.05a
• /
• pp.68.1-68.1
• /
• 2002

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
• /
• v.42 no.2
• /
• pp.7-12
• /
• 2018

In this review, we have tried to summarize the evidence and molecular characterization indicating that $20{\alpha}$-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase ($20{\alpha}$-HSD) is a group of the aldo-keto reductase (AKR) family, and it plays roles in the modulation and regulation of steroid hormones. This enzyme plays a critical role in the regulation of luteal function in female mammals. We have studied the molecular expression and regulation of $20{\alpha}$-HSD in cows, pigs, deer, and monkeys. The specific antibody against bovine $20{\alpha}$-HSD was generated in a rabbit immunized with the purified recombinant protein. The mRNA expression levels increased gradually throughout the estrous cycle, the highest being in the corpus luteum (CL) 1 stage. The mRNA was also specifically detected in the placental and ovarian tissues during pregnancy. The $20{\alpha}$-HSD protein was intensively localized in the large luteal cells and placental cytotrophoblast villus, glandular epithelial cells of the endometrium, syncytiotrophoblast of the placenta, the isthmus cells of the oviduct, and the basal part of the primary chorionic villi and chorionic stem villus of the placenta and large luteal cells of the CL in many mammalian species. Further studies are needed to determine the functional significance of the $20{\alpha}$-HSD molecule during ovulation, pregnancy, and parturition. This article will review how fundamental information of these enzymes can be exploited for a better understanding of the reproductive organs during ovulation and pregnancy.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.72-78
• /
• 2015

Recently, noninvasive prenatal test (NIPT) has been adopted as a primary screening tool for fetal chromosomal aneuploidy. The principle of NIPT lies in isolating the fetal fraction of cell-free DNA in maternal plasma and analyzing it with bioinformatic tools to measure the amount of gene from the target chromosome, such as chromosomes 21, 18, and 13. NIPT will contribute to decreasing the need for unnecessary invasive procedures, including amniocentesis and chorionic villi sampling, for confirming fetal aneuploidy because of its higher positive predictive value than that of the conventional prenatal screening method. However, its greater cost than that of the current antenatal screening protocol may be an obstacle to the adoption of this innovative technique in clinical practice. Digital polymerase chain reaction (dPCR) is a novel approach for detecting and quantifying nucleic acid. dPCR provides real-time diagnostic advantages with higher sensitivity, accuracy, and absolute quantification than conventional quantitative PCR. Since the groundbreaking discovery that fetal cell-free nucleic acid exists in maternal plasma was reported, dPCR has been used for the quantification of fetal DNA and for screening for fetal aneuploidy. It has been suggested that dPCR will decrease the cost by targeting specific sequences in the target chromosome, and dPCR-based noninvasive testing will facilitate progress toward the implementation of a noninvasive approach for screening for trisomy 21, 18, and 13. In this review, we highlight the principle of dPCR and discuss its future implications in clinical practice.