NOVEL FETAL MARKERS FOR PRENATAL DIAGNOSIS AND MONITORING

摘要

Disclosed is a method for detecting or monitoring a pregnancy-associated disorder in a woman pregnant with a fetus, comprising the steps of: (a) determining the methylation status of a CpG-containing genomic sequence in a biological sample from the woman, wherein the sample is whole blood, serum, plasma, urine, or saliva, wherein the genomic sequence from the fetus and the genomic sequence from the woman are differentially methylated, thereby distinguishing the genomic sequence from the woman and the genomic sequence from the fetus in the sample, wherein the genomic sequence is at least 15 nucleotides in length, comprising at least one cytosine, and is within a region on chromosome 21, and wherein the region consists of (1) a genomic locus ofCGI137; and (2) a DNA sequence of no more than 10 kb upstream and/or downstream from the locus; (b) determining the level of the genomic sequence from the fetus; and (c) comparing the level of the genomic sequence from the fetus with a standard control, wherein an increase from the standard control indicates the presence or progression of a pregnancy-associated disorder.