Problem: Women treated with allogeneic immunization using paternal lymphocytes often request laboratory molecular tests using cell-free fetal DNA in maternal plasma. There is concern whether the treatment can interfere with its results. This study evaluated the applicability of fetal sex determination using fragments of sex-determining region Y (SRY) in the plasma of women submitted to paternal lymphocyte immunization.
Method of study: Non-pregnant women blood samples were collected at two different moments: prior to paternal lymphocyte immunization and after three doses of the immunotherapy, in a prospective study. For women who became pregnant, another sample was collect during the first trimester. Amplification of the fragment of the Y chromosome (SRY) was performed using real-time PCR.
Results: The SRY gene was not identified in any of the plasma samples of the 50 non-pregnant women submitted to paternal lymphocyte immunization at either of the two moments evaluated. For the 26 pregnant women, the results of the identification of sex -determining in maternal plasma were completely in agreement with the infant sex.
Conclusion: Paternal lymphocyte immunization does not affect the results of SRY fragment investigation in the plasma of women submitted to paternal lymphocyte immunization therapy.
© 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.