PLoS ONE (Jan 2014)

Fetal gender and several cytokines are associated with the number of fetal cells in maternal blood--an observational study.

  • Jacob Mørup Schlütter,
  • Ida Kirkegaard,
  • Olav Bjørn Petersen,
  • Nanna Larsen,
  • Britta Christensen,
  • David M Hougaard,
  • Steen Kølvraa,
  • Niels Uldbjerg

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0106934
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9, no. 9
p. e106934

Abstract

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To identify factors influencing the number of fetal cells in maternal blood.A total of 57 pregnant women at a gestational age of weeks 11-14 were included. The number of fetal cells in maternal blood was assessed in 30 ml of blood using specific markers for both enrichment and subsequent identification.Participants carrying male fetuses had a higher median number of fetal cells in maternal blood than those carrying female fetuses (5 vs. 3, p = 0.04). Certain cytokines (RANTES, IL-2 and IL-5) were significantly associated with the number of fetal cells in maternal blood.The number of fetal cells in maternal blood is associated with certain cytokines and fetal gender.