Project description:We have employed Arraystar Mouse LncRNA Microarray V3.0 as a discovery platform to identify LncRNA and mRNA profile between prenatal and adult mouse liver tissues. Mouse E18 and 2-month old liver total RNA were commercially purchased.
Project description:Cytogenetic microarray analysis (CMA) in prenatal testing detects chromosome abnormalities and new genetic syndromes that would be missed by conventional cytogenetics and has the potential to significantly enhance prenatal genetic evaluation. A large Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute Of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)-sponsored multicentered trial to assess the role of CMA as a primary prenatal diagnostic tool has been completed, and results will soon be available. Integration of this technology into clinical care will require thoughtful changes in patient counseling. Here, we examine four cases, all ascertained in the NICHD prenatal microarray study, to illustrate the challenges and subtleties of genetic counseling required with prenatal CMA testing. Although the specifics of each case are distinct, the underlying genetic principles of uncertainty, variable expressivity, and lack of precise genotype-phenotype correlation are well known and already part of prenatal counseling. Counselor and practitioner education will need to include both the science of interpreting array findings as well as development of improved approaches to uncertainty. A team approach to interpretation will need to be developed, as will standardized guidelines by professional organizations and laboratories. Of equal import is additional research into patient attitudes and desires, and a better understanding of the full phenotypic spectrum of copy number variants discovered in utero.
Project description:Objective: Chromosomal 1q21.1 deletions and duplications are genomic disorders which are usually diagnosed postnatally. However, the genotype-phenotype correlations of 1q21.1 copy number variants (CNVs) during prenatal period are still not clear. This study aimed to provide a systematical summary of prenatal phenotypes for such genomic disorders. Methods: Twenty-six prenatal amniotic fluid samples diagnosed with 1q21.1 microdeletions/microduplications were obtained from pregnant women who opted for invasive prenatal testing. Karyotypic analysis and chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) were performed for all cases simultaneously. The pregnancy outcomes and health conditions after birth for all cases were followed up. Meanwhile, prenatal cases with 1q21.1 microdeletions or microduplications in the literature were retrospectively collected. Results: Eleven pregnancies (11/8252, 0.13%) with 1q21.1 microdeletions and fifteen (15/8252, 0.18%) with 1q21.1 microduplications were identified. Among these 1q21.1 CNVs, four cases covered thrombocytopenia-absent radius (TAR) region, sixteen cases covered 1q21.1 recurrent microdeletion/microduplication region, and six cases covered all regions mentioned above. The prenatal abnormal ultrasound findings were recorded in four participants with 1q21.1 deletions and seven participants with 1q21.1 duplications. Finally, three cases with 1q21.1 deletions and five with 1q21.1 duplications terminated their pregnancies. Conclusion: 1q21.1 microdeletions were associated with increased nuchal translucency (NT), anomalies of urinary system and cardiovascular abnormalities, and 1q21.1 microduplications were correlated with cardiovascular malformations, nasal bone dysplasia and increased NT in prenatal setting. In addition, cerebral ventriculomegaly might be correlated with 1q21.1 microduplications. Considering the variable expressivity and incomplete penetrance of 1q21.1 CNVs, long term follow up after birth should be carried out for these cases. We identified 26 fetuses carrying the 1q21.1 microdeletions and microduplications using chromosomal microarray analysis. And diverse prenatal phenotypes and the critical genes involved in the deleted/duplicated regions were described in this study.
Project description:In the present study, the effects of prenatal exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) and diethyl hexyl phthalate (DEHP) on male reproductive system of offspring were examined by a tissue-specific microarray and gene annotation with Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) indicative of testicular components. The aim of this study was to investigate the validity of microarray analysis with MeSH as a method for obtaining and evaluating an overview of testicular toxicity mechanisms in maternally exposed specimens. Pregnant mice were treated with BPA or DEHP by subcutaneous administration on days 7 and 14 of pregnancy. Tissue and blood samples were collected from 6-week-old male offspring. Testes were subjected to gene expression analysis using quantitative RT-PCR and cDNA microarray (testis2). To interpret the microarray data, genes were classified using MeSH related to the functions of testis and sperm. As a result, MeSH categories related to androgen of dysregulated genes and Sertoli cells of downregulated genes were only enriched in BPA-treated groups. These results were consistent with the observations in the sperm properties and histological examination of testes. This article concludes that 1) microarray analysis of expression changes of genes associated with testicular function and spermatogenetic process, and 2) a method using MeSH to extract common terms among dysregulated genes, are useful for predicting an overview of the testicular and reproductive toxicity of prenatal exposure to chemical substances.
Project description:Background: Chromosomal 16p11.2 deletions and duplications are genomic disorders which are characterized by neurobehavioral abnormalities, obesity, congenital abnormalities and so on. However, the prenatal phenotypes of 16p11.2 copy number variations (CNVs) are still not well described till now. This study aimed to provide an elaborate summary of intrauterine phenotypic features for such genomic disorders. Methods: Twenty prenatal amniotic fluid samples diagnosed with 16p11.2 microdeletions/microduplications were obtained from pregnant women who opted for invasive prenatal testing. Karyotypic analysis and chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) were performed in parallel. The pregnancy outcomes and health conditions after birth for all cases were followed up. Meanwhile, we made a pooled analysis on the prenatal phenotypes for the published cases carrying 16p11.2 CNVs. Results: 20 fetuses (20/20884, 0.10%) with 16p11.2 CNVs were identified: five 16p11.2 BP2-BP3 deletion, ten 16p11.2 BP4-BP5 deletion and five 16p11.2 BP4-BP5 duplication. Abnormal ultrasound findings were recorded in ten participants with 16p11.2 deletions.Various degrees of intrauterine phenotypic features, ranging from normal to abnormal, were observed. No ultrasound abnormalities were observed for all 16p11.2 duplication cases during the pregnancy period. For 16p11.2 deletions, eleven cases terminated their pregnancies. For 16p11.2 duplications, four cases gave birth to healthy neonates except one was lost to follow up. Conclusions: Diverse prenatal phenotypes were presented in 16p11.2 CNVs, ranging from normal to abnormal. For 16p11.2 BP4-BP5 deletion, the most common structural and non-structural abnormalities were the abnormality of the vertebral column or rib and thickened nuchal translucency, respectively. 16p11.2 BP2-BP3 deletion might be closely associated with fetal growth restriction and single umbilical artery. No representative ultrasound findings for 16p11.2 duplication were observed till now. Considering the variable expressivity and incomplete penetrance of 16p11.2 CNVs, long term follow up after birth should be carried out for these cases. We identified 20 fetuses carrying the 16p11.2 microdeletions and microduplications using chromosomal microarray analysis. And diverse prenatal phenotypes and the critical genes involved in the deleted/duplicated regions were described in this study.
Project description:we have conducted a comparative study of the different technologies available for the detection of chromosomal abnormalities in prenatal samples. Here we include results of the aCGH experiments