Circulating Fetal Cells Sequenced for Prenatal Testing Study

December 10, 2019

(The Scientist) – A team led by geneticist Arthur Beaudet of Baylor College of Medicine obtained blood samples from pregnant women and separated out trophoblasts for analysis. Using whole-genome sequencing, they detected fetal genetic abnormalities such as trisomies, the presence of an extra chromosome, with high accuracy. This technique could have the potential to replace more invasive tests such as amniocentesis or chorionic villi sampling, and it appears to be more accurate than a similar procedure that tests cell-free DNA in the mother’s bloodstream.