Trophoblast-like cells sorted from peripheral maternal blood using flow cytometry: A multiparametric study involving transmission electron microscopy and fetal dna amplification

Three monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against trophoblast (GB17, GB21, and GB25) and flow cytometry were used to sort trophoblast-like cells (TLCs) from peripheral blood of pregnant women. Sorted TLCs were processed for electron microscopy and fetal DNA amplification of the Y-specific sequences from mothers carrying male fetuses. At the ultra-structural level, most of the nucleated cells had the morphology of leucocytes, suggesting maternal contaminants, and we did not find the characteristic features of the free inter-villous trophoblast cells. Nevertheless, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis showed an amplification of Y-specific sequences in two out of three samples of sorted TLCs. These results suggest that besides the maternal leucocytes, sufficient trophoblast nucleated fetal cells can be obtained using cell enrichment by sorting. This sensitive method holds promise for non-invasive prenatal diagnosis of fetal sex and if sufficient Y(positive) nuclei are found, for the diagnosis of selected numerical chromosome abnormalities.     

A routine method for storing lymphocytes for repeated isolation of DNA

A protocol for easy storage and later expansion of lymphocyte populations is given. Compared with methods using transformed cell lines, the method has a number of advantages for repeated production of cells for the isolation of DNA in amounts sufficient for use in diagnostic DNA technology.     

In vitro characteristics of human fetal cells obtained from chorionic villus sampling and amniocentesis

In vitro characteristics of human fetal cells have been investigated after chorionic villus sampling at the first trimester and amniocentesis at the second trimester of pregnancy. Light microscopy revealed heterogeneous morphology of cell types in both the chorionic villus culture and the amniotic fluid cultures. Based on the experiments performed, chorionic villus cells are more sensitive to pronase, trypsin, and versene during subculture and have a higher DNA content per single cell and release more [¹²⁵I]-Beta-human chorionic gonadotropin into culture medium than those found in amniotic fluid cells. The practical applications of this study are discussed.     

ASMs模型中异养菌减衰系数之间的关系及其测定

国际水协(IAWQ)推出的ASM1、ASM2、ASM2D号模型中描述微生物的衰亡过程采用了死亡-再生模式,而ASM3号模型中描述微生物的衰亡则采用了传统减衰模式,文章从两种减衰模式的机理出发,指出了两者之间的区别与联系,并详细推导了两种减衰模式中各参数之间的关系,以此得出了异养菌传统减衰系数bH'和死亡-再生减衰系数bH的测定计算方法。文中在20℃条件下,对以印染废水为主的实际污水处理厂活性污泥的异养菌减衰系数bH'和bH进行了测定,所得结果分别为0.20和0.50。     

污染物的微生物毒性检验

从文献报导的１０几种污染物毒性试验方法中，选择了脱氢酶活性、Ｍｉｃｒｏｔｏｘ毒性、微生物呼吸率、以及降解动力学等４种方法，系统地比较，研究了其表示污染物对微生物的毒性效应的灵敏性，准确性，可靠性和实用性，研究结果应用于焦化废水、染化废水与黄浦江水样的检验表明，ＭＴＸ方法能最好地反映污染物的微生物毒性，且操作简便，费时少，数据的解释也最为方便。     

Prenatal diagnosis of medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) deficiency in a family with a previous fatal case of sudden unexpected death in childhood

Medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) deficiency is a potentially fatal inherited disease with a carrier frequency of approximately 1:100 in most Caucasian populations. The disease is implicated in sudden unexpected death in childhood. A prevalent disease-causing point mutation (A985G) in the MCAD gene has been characterized, thus rendering diagnosis easy in the majority of cases. Since the clinical spectrum of MCAD deficiency ranges from death in the first days of life to an asymptomatic life, there are probably other genetic factors—in addition to MCAD mutations—involved in the expression of the disease. Thus, families who have experienced the death of a child from MCAD deficiency might have an increased risk of a seriously affected subsequent child. In such a family we have therefore performed a prenatal diagnosis on a chorionic villus sample by a highly specific and sensitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for the G985 mutation. The analysis was positive and resulted in abortion. We verified the diagnosis by direct analysis on blood spots and other tissue material from the aborted fetus and from family members.     

Effects of mid-trimester induced abortion on the subsequent pregnancy

The outcome of the pregnancy following (a) a mid-trimester termination of pregnancy (TOP) for fetal neural tube defect (NTD) (77 women=group 1); (b) mid-trimester TOP for fetal Down's syndrome (13 women=group 2); (c) delivery of a baby with NTD (119 women=group 3) was studied. The prenatal fetal loss was relatively high in all groups. In group 1 it was similar to that found in other studies after first trimester TOP, in group 2 it was associated with advanced maternal age and the unexpected finding in group 3 was not attributable to advanced maternal age. It is suggested that a previous NTD per se might increase the risk of fetal loss in the next pregnancy. A previous mid-trimester TOP for NTD was not associated with an increase in premature labour, small for dates babies or congenital abnormality in the next pregnancy, but there was a slight increase in the number of babies weighing less than 2500 g.     

The effect of oxygen tension on colony formation and cell proliferation of amniotic fluid cellsin vitro

The effects of reduced oxygen concentrations in the gas phase over the culture medium on colony formation and cell proliferation were investigated in high and low cell density primary and secondary cultures of amniotic fluid cells. Using two standard culture methods (25 cm² plastic flasks and Leighton type tubes) a significantly reduced culture time was observed at high cell density for mass cultures by incubation within a low oxygen tension gas phase (2.5 per cent to 7.5 per cent O₂) instead of conventional air (18 per cent O₂). At low cell density colony formation was significantly enhanced in cultures grown at reduced oxygen tension. Using gas permeable membranes as support, lowering the oxygen tension from 7.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent yielded an increase in plating efficiency of cells from approximately 5 per cent to 25 per cent, whereas plating efficiency was less than 2 per cent for cells grown at ambient 18 per cent O₂. It is suggested that low oxygen tension in the gas phase is an effective means of enhancing clonal growth in amniotic fluid cell cultures, thereby reducing both culture time and risk of culture failure.     

室内常见气传真菌孢子的细胞毒性研究

分别以MTT比色法和细胞克隆形成率实验，观察了室内常见气传真菌孢子对中国仓鼠（CHL）肺上皮细胞的存活和增殖能力的影响，并通过检测细胞培养液中乳酸脱氢酶（LDH）活力，胞内Ca^2 ,K^ 含量，观察真菌孢子对细胞膜通透性的影响，结果表明，室内常见气传真菌孢子能显影响CHL细胞的活性，并可使细胞膜通透性发生改变，引起胞内LDH外渗，细胞内外离子发生交换，细胞内K^ 浓度降低，而细胞外的Ca^2 有内流的趋势。