Measuring fetal brain and lung transcripts in amniotic fluid supernatant: a comparison of digital PCR and RT-qPCR methods

摘要

Purpose: Amniotic fluid (AF) cell-free RNA is a promising source of information regarding fetal physiology. Digital PCR (dPCR) is a direct approach to nucleic acid detection that reports absolute transcript copy number. The aim of this study was to compare quantification of cell-free fetal brain and lung RNA transcripts in AF by reverse transcription-qPCR (RT-qPCR) and dPCR. Material and methods: Prospective hospital-based study was performed in 2016-2017. Pulmonary genes were quantified in term AF samples collected at elective cesarean birth; neuro-developmental genes were measured in preterm samples (<34 weeks) obtained from women undergoing clinically-indicated amniocentesis.