ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE@#To make molecular diagnosis of an infant affected with severe developmental delay and multiple birth defects, assisting prenatal diagnosis for the second pregnancy.@*METHODS@#Standard G-banded karyotyping was performed for the fetus and his parents. Single nucleotide polymorphism array (SNP array) was used to detect submicroscopic chromosomal aberration. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was employed to determine the parental origin of the aberration.@*RESULTS@#Both the proband and the fetus harbored a 5.4 Mb distal 4p deletion and a 6.9 Mb distal 6q duplication. FISH confirmed that the mother has carried a balanced translocation involving 4p and 6q.@*CONCLUSION@#The unbalanced chromosomal aberration in the proband and the fetus were both derived from the mother. Both patients showed a Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrom phenotype and partial phenotype of 6q trisomy. SNP array combined with FISH are essential for the detection of cryptic chromosomal aberrations which may be missed by coventional karyotyping analysis.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Infant , Male , Pregnancy , Chromosomes, Human, Pair 4 , Genetics , Chromosomes, Human, Pair 6 , Genetics , In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence , Karyotyping , Pedigree , Prenatal Diagnosis , Translocation, Genetic , Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome , GeneticsABSTRACT
Objective To assess the positive predictive value (PPV) of fetal sex chromosome aneuploidy (SCA) identified by non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) and investigate families' acceptance of SCA fetus. Methods All suspected SCA cases screened by NIPT from singletons were reviewed in Prenatal Diagnosis Center of Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital from April 1, 2015 to October 31, 2017. Maternal age, NIPT indications, prenatal diagnosis protocols, testing results and their pregnancy determinations were analyzed. Results NIPT was provided to 35827 singletons and 86 suspected SCA cases were identified out of 35823 successful ones, giving a positive detection rate of 0.24％. The average maternal age was (31.5±5.0) years. After genetic counseling, 20 patients declined prenatal diagnosis,the rest 66 cases proceeded with aminiocentesis and fetal chromosomal testing, of which 32 were cytogenetically diagnosed as SCA with the PPV of 48.5％ . The SCA fetus consisted of 25 sex chromosome trisomies (seven cases of 47,XXX, three cases of 47,XYY and 15 cases of 47,XXY), one monosomy X (45,X), three mosacisms (47,XXY/48,XXYY, 47,XXX/45,X, 45,X/46,XX, one for each) and three microdeletions/microduplications. Besides, two false positive NIPT cases were proved to be low level of maternal mosacism (45,X/46,XX, 5％ and 10％ for each). After genetic counseling, 17 out of 20 who declined prenatal diagnosis and 9 out of 32 who diagnosed fetal SCAs continued their pregnancies, with a combined proportion of continued pregnancy of 50％. Thirty-four pregnancies were also continued after exclusion of SCA. Interestingly, the proportion of continued pregnancy among those sex chromosomal trisomy fetuses was only 32％(8/25). Conclusions As a safe and rapid prenatal testing for common autosomal aneuploidies, NIPT could also identify some types of SCA, but with relatively low PPV. More long-term researches are required to determine its sensitivity and specificity. For some types of SCA with mild phenotypes, some family would continue the pregnancy. Therefore, limitations of NIPT should be appropriately explained during both pre- and post-testing counseling.
ABSTRACT
Objective To explore the effect of blocking BTLA-HVEM (herpesvirus entry mediator-B and T lymphocyte attenuator) pathway on dendritic cell function and the related immunological mechanisms. Methods Murine BTLA extracellular domain eukaryotic expression vector psBTLA was constructed by gene recombination and transfected CHO by Lipofection method. Mouse bone marrow cells were induced to differentiate into DCs by GM-CSF plus IL-4. Expression of BTLA and HVEM on DCs was detected after HSPT0-TC-1 peptide complex stimulation by FACS. Expression of BT-1 and secretion of IL-12 were detected after HSP70-TC-1 peptide complex plus psBTLA transfected CHO culture supernatant stimulation on DCs. Pretreated DCs co-cultured with the same genetic background mouse splenocytes and lymphocytes proliferation and cytokine secretion were detected. Effect of psBTLA gene transfer in vivo on BT-1 expression of DCs and tumor growth on tumor-bearing mice was detected. Results Extracellular domain of murine BTLA was successfully constructed, psBTLA stable transfection CHO cells were obtained and expression of BTLA extracellular domain(sBTLA) was detected the in its culture supernatant. BTLA and HVEM expression of DCs were increased after stimulation by the antigen peptide complex. When DCs were treated with antigen peptide complex plus culture supernatant containing sBTLA, B7-1 expression and IL-12 secretion were increased. Co-cultured with splenocytes, lymphocytes proliferation and cytokine secretion, such as IL-2 and IFN-γ,, were also increased. Gene transfection with psBTLA in vivo promoted B7-1 expression on DCs and inhibited cervical cancer cells growth. Conclusion Blockade of BTLA-HVEM inhibitory pathway with sBTLA can further improve DCs function, activation of lymphocytes and promote antitumor immune response.
ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the synergistic therapy effects of B and T lymphocyte attenuator(BTLA) extracellular domain in combination with heat shock protein 70 (HSP70)-TC-1 antigen peptide complex on the mouse model of cervical cancer and the related immunological mechanisms. Methods(1)Detecting the BTLA and herpesvirus entry mediator (HVEM) gene expression in the tumor microenvironment after C57BL/6 mice were inoculated with TC-1 tumor cells by realtime PCR; BTLA,HVEM expression on tumor infiltrating lymphocytes cell surface were detected by flow cytometry (fluorescence intensity). (2) According to different treatments, tumor-bearing mice were divided into 5 groups, which was injected with pcDNA3. 1 (empty vector plasmid as control), psBTLA (vector plasmid which expresses BTLA extracellular domain), HSP70 (HSP70-TC-1 cell peptide complex), HSP70 +pcDNA3.1 or HSP70 + psBTLA, respectively. The weight of tumor was recorded. The expression of immunoregulatory genes in tumor microenvironment were detected. The change of lymphocyte amount and cytotoxicity were detected too; lymphocyte proliferation activity was measured by tritium thymidine incorporation assay; the concentration of interleukin (IL) 2 and interferon-γ(IFN-γ) in supernatants of spleen lymphocyte were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results (1) BTLA gene expression was gradually increased after tumor cells inoculation. The highest expression level was 2. 83 + 0. 35 at 14th day, which had statistical significance difference with the 7th day expression of 1.66±0. 25 (P < 0. 05). While HVEM mRNA expression did not change significantly (P > 0. 05). The 7th and 14th day after TC-1 cells inoculation, the average fluorescence intensity of BTLA expression on the surface of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes was 33.5 and 51.8, respectively, in which there was statistically significant difference (P <0. 05); while the difference of HVEM expression was not statistically significant (57. 2 vs 49. 3 ,P >0. 05). (2)The 28th day after inoculation, tumor inhibition rate of HSP70 + psBTLA group was 88%, which was significantly higher than other treatment groups (P <0. 05). The 28th day after TC-1 cells inoculation, combination therapy not only promoted IFN-γ and IL-2 gene (3. 12 + 0.71,3.20 + 0. 62)expression but also reduced transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), Foxp3 and IL-10 expression (0. 25±0. 03,0. 19 +0. 03,0. 31 +0. 04;P <0. 05). It also promoted CD8+ T lymphocyte infiltration(52 +6)/high power field, cytotoxicity (65.5±2.4) %, proliferation (15.0 × 103 cpm) and cytokine IL-2 , IFN-γsecretion(824±51), (1096±112) pg/ml, which were all significantly higher than other groups (P <0. 05). Conclusion The effect of immunotherapy on tumor can be augmented by the combination of psBTLA which expresses extracellular domain of BTLA and HSP70-TC-1 tumor antigen peptide complex,which could improve the expression of the related immunoregulatory genes to establish a much better microenvironment in favor of anti-tumor immune response against the mice model of the cervix carcinoma.