摘要 |
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide processes and compositions for methylation-based enrichment of fetal nucleic acid from a maternal sample useful for non-invasive prenatal diagnoses.SOLUTION: Provided are compositions and processes that utilize genomic regions that are differentially methylated between a mother and her fetus to separate, isolate or enrich fetal nucleic acid from a maternal sample. The compositions and processes described in the specification are particularly useful for non-invasive prenatal diagnostics, including the detection of chromosomal aneuploidies. This invention provides, in particular, human epigenetic biomarkers that are useful for the noninvasive detection of fetal genetic traits, including, but not limited to, the presence or absence of fetal nucleic acid, the absolute or relative amount of fetal nucleic acid, fetal sex, and fetal chromosomal abnormalities such as aneuploidy. |