Prenatal diagnosis of genetic disorders.

Three hundred and fifty pregnancies were monitored by transabdominal amniocentesis in the fourteenth to sixteenth week of gestation followed by karyotyping or biochemica assays of cultured amniotic fluid cells and analysis of alpha-fetoprotein in the amniotic fluid supernatant. The pregnancy was interrupted in 36 cases (10%) either becasue of a fetal abnormality or the presence of a male fetus in pregnancies at risk for an X-linked disease. Four chromosomal aberrations were found in 87 pregnancies tested because of advanced maternal age. In 101 pregnancies with a recurrence risk of Down's syndrome, 2 fetuses with an abnormal karyotype were detected. In 11 cases, in which 1 parent was a carrier of a balanced translocation, 2 unbalanced fetal karyotypes were found. Fetal chromosome studies in 43 pregancies at risk for an X-linked disease indicated the presence of a male fetus in 21 cases. Prenatal diagnosis of 11 different metabolic diseases was performed in a total of 34 cases. Microchemical techniques were used to allow completion of the diagnosis of seven different enzyme deficiencies within 9 to 22 days after amniocentesis. Alpha-fetoprotein assay in the amniotic fluid supernatant of 47 pregnancies at risk for an open neural tube defect resulted in the detection of 3 anencephalic fetuses during the second half of pregnancy. The safety and reliability of amniocentesis and the possible effects on the outcome of pregnancy are evaluated. Prenatal diagnosis offers a promising alternative for parents who are at risk of having a child with a genetic disease which can be detected in amniotic fluid or in cultured amniotic fluid cells.     

Three new families with arterial tortuosity syndrome

Arterial tortuosity syndrome (ATS) is a rare condition with autosomal recessive inheritance characterized by connective tissue abnormalities. The most specific clinical findings are cardiovascular anomalies including tortuosity, lengthening, aneurysm, and stenosis formation of major arteries. Also ventricular hypertrophy is frequently present. Other anomalies are skin hyperextensibility and cutis laxa, joint laxity or contractures of the joints, and inguinal herniae. Histology shows disruption of elastic fibers of the media. These features suggest that ATS is a connective tissue disorder. A biochemical or molecular defect has not yet been identified. We describe here nine additional ATS patients from three consanguineous Moroccan families and review a total of 35 patients with this uncommon condition.     

Reproductive planning after genetic counselling: a perspective from the last decade

Studies from the last decade on factors influencing reproductive planning after genetic counselling were reviewed. Increased possibilities of DNA-analysis and prenatal diagnosis might have brought about a shift in the paramountcy of factors influencing reproductive planning after genetic counselling. In contrast to the literature in the seventies, the magnitude of the genetic risk was no longer found to be one of the decisive factors in postcounselling reproductive planning. Instead, the interpretation of the risk as high or low and the desire to have children appeared to be paramount. The impact of new developments in DNA-analysis in prenatal diagnosis and presymptomatic testing will be an important subject for future studies on factors influencing reproductive planning.     

Predominance of null mutations in ataxia-telangiectasia

Ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) is an autosomal recessive disorder involving cerebellar degeneration, immunodeficiency, chromosomal instability, radiosensitivity and cancer predisposition. The responsible gene, ATM, was recently identified by positional cloning and found to encode a putative 350 kDa protein with a Pl 3-kinase-like domain, presumably involved in mediating cell cycle arrest in response to radiation-induced DNA damage. The nature and location of A-T mutations should provide insight into the function of the ATM protein and the molecular basis of this pleiotropic disease. Of 44 A-T mutations identified by us to date, 39 (89%) are expected to inactivate the ATM protein by truncating it, by abolishing correct initiation or termination of translation, or by deleting large segments. Additional mutations are four smaller in-frame deletions and insertions, and one substitution of a highly conserved amino acid at the Pl 3-kinase domain. The emerging profile of mutations causing A-T is thus dominated by those expected to completely inactivate the ATM protein. ATM mutations with milder effects may result in phenotypes related, but not identical, to A-T.      

High throughput parallel analysis of hundreds of patient samples for more than 100 mutations in multiple disease genes

As more mutations are identified in genes of known sequence, there is a crucial need in the areas of medical genetics and genome analysis for rapid, accurate and cost-effective methods of mutation detection. We have developed a multiplex allele-specific diagnostic assay (MASDA) for analysis of large numbers of samples (> 500) simultaneously for a large number of known mutations (> 100) in a single assay. MASDA utilizes oligonucleotide hybridization to interrogate DNA sequences. Multiplex DNA samples are immobilized on a solid support and a single hybridization is performed with a pool of allele-specific oligonucleotide (ASO) probes. Any probes complementary to specific mutations present in a given sample are in effect affinity purified from the pool by the target DNA. Sequence-specific band patterns (fingerprints), generated by chemical or enzymatic sequencing of the bound ASO(s), easily identify the specific mutation(s). Using this design, in a single diagnostic assay, we tested samples for 66 cystic fibrosis (CF) mutations, 14 beta-thalassemia mutations, two sickle cell anemia (SCA) mutations, three Tay-Sachs mutations, eight Gaucher mutations, four mutations in Canavan disease, four mutations in Fanconi anemia, and five mutations in BRCA1. Each mutation was correctly identified. Finally, in a blinded study of 106 of these mutations in > 500 patients, all mutations were properly identified. There were no false positives or false negatives. The MASDA assay is capable of detecting point mutations as well as small insertion or deletion mutations. This technology is amenable to automation and is suitable for immediate utilization for high-throughput genetic diagnostics in clinical and research laboratories.      

Preliminary observations on polar body extrusion and pronuclear formation in human oocytes using time-lapse video cinematography

In this study, we have used time-lapse video cinematography to study fertilization in 50 human oocytes that had undergone intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Time-lapse recording commenced shortly after ICSI and proceeded for 17-20 h. Oocytes were cultured in an environmental chamber which was maintained under standard culture conditions. Overall, 38 oocytes (76%) were fertilized normally, and the fertilization rate and embryo quality were not significantly different from 487 sibling oocytes cultured in a conventional incubator. Normal fertilization followed a defined course of events, although the timing of these events varied markedly between oocytes. In 35 of the 38 fertilized oocytes (92%), there were circular waves of granulation within the ooplasm which had a periodicity of 20-53 min. The sperm head decondensed during this granulation phase. The second polar body was then extruded, and this was followed by the central formation of the male pronucleus. The female pronucleus formed in the cytoplasm adjacent to the second polar body at the same time as, or slightly after, the male pronucleus, and was subsequently drawn towards the male pronucleus until the two abutted. Both pronuclei then increased in size, the nucleoli moved around within the pronuclei and some nucleoli coalesced. During pronuclear growth, the organelles contracted from the cortex towards the centre of the oocyte, leaving a clear cortical zone. The oocyte decreased in diameter from 112 to 106 microm (P < 0.0001) during the course of the observation period. The female pronucleus was significantly smaller in diameter than the male pronucleus (24.1 and 22.4 microm respectively, P = 0.008) and contained fewer nucleoli (4.2 and 7.0 respectively, P < 0.0001). After time-lapse recording, oocytes were cultured for 48 h prior to embryo transfer or cryopreservation. Embryo quality was related to fertilization events and periodicity of the cytoplasmic wave, and it was found that good quality embryos arose from oocytes that had more uniform timing from injection to pronuclear abuttal and tended to have a longer cytoplasmic wave. In conclusion, we have shown that time-lapse video cinematography is an excellent tool for studying fertilization and early embryo development, and have demonstrated that human fertilization comprises numerous complex dynamic events.