Prenatal Genetics Flashcards
Gestational Age
date of pregnancy from LMP; includes first two weeks of ovarian cycle
Fertilization Age
date of pregnancy from fertilization; GA - 2 weeks
1st Trimester
1 - 13 weeks
2nd Trimester
14 - 27 weeks
3rd Trimester
28- 40 weeks
Gravida
pregnancies
Para/Parity
completed pregnancies >20w
GTPAL
gravida, term (deliveries >37w), preterm (deliveries between 20-37w), abortions (miscarriages and terminations <20w), living
Folic Acid Supplementation Recommendations
starting prior to conception, 400mcg daily or 4mg daily if prior history of ONTDs
% Unplanned Pregnancies
45%
Carrier Screening
genetic testing to identify couples who are at risk of having a child with various genetic conditions (usually AR, some XL)
Common Conditions on Carrier Screening
- cystic fibrosis
- spinal muscular atrophy
- ethnicity-based conditions (Tay-Sachs, Gaucher, Canavan, familial dysautonomia, hemoglobinopathies)
- fragile X syndrome (not standard)
Cystic Fibrosis
- carrier frequency: 1/25
- F508del occurs in 70% of cases
- ACOG and ACMG recommend core panel of 23 mutations that identifies 49-98% of carriers
- present on NBS via immunoreactive trypsinogen testing
Spinal Muscular Atrophy
- carrier frequency: 1/40
- 95% of cases due to homozygous deletions
- 2% de novo cases
- ACOG and ACMG recommend SMA carrier screening for all couples
- some labs test for SNP in intron 7 (g.27134T>G) to determine if copy number 2 in cis or trans; presence of SNP increases chance they’re in cis
Ashkenazi Jewish Conditions
- ACOG recommends screening for 4 conditions (Canavan, CF, familial dysautonomia, TSD - DNA and enzyme)
- ACMG recommends screening for 11 conditions (Bloom, Canavan, CF, familial dysautonomia, Fanconi anemia C, Gaucher, mucolipidosis type IV, Niemann-Pick A/B, SMA, TSD - DNA and enzyme)
Tay Sachs Disease
- AJ carrier frequency: 1/30
- Cajun/French Canadian carrier frequency: 1/50
- 3 HEXA mutations account for up to 98% of TSD in AJ
- enzyme testing detects 98% of carriers regardless of ethnicity
- when doing enzyme assay, important to do leukocytes on pregnant women and women on OCP
Canavan Disease
- carrier frequency: 1/57
Familial Dysautonomia
- carrier frequency: 1/30
- most individuals homozygous for c.2204+6>C
Gaucher Disease (type 1)
- carrier frequency: 1/10-1/15
Hemoglobinopathies
- structural hemoglobinopathies: HbS, HbC, HbE
- thalassemias
- carrier frequency for sickle cell in African Americans: 1/10
- for patient at increased rick for hemoglobinopathy given ethnicity, both CBC and hemoglobin electrophoresis should be performed
- ethnic backgrounds with increased risk: African, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Southeast Asian, West Indian
- usually detected on NBS
Fragile X Syndrome
- 1/260 females are carriers
- normal: <45 repeats
- intermediate/gray zone: 45-54 repeats
- premutation: 55-200 repeats
full mutation: >200 repeats’ - AGG interruptions usually appear every 9-10 CGG repeats and can modify risk
- ACOG and ACMG support offering testing to women with family history of FX-related disorders, women with a personal history of POI or elevated FSH <40y, women who request carrier screening
Expanded Carrier Screening
- technologies vary between full-exon sequencing and targeted genotyping of predefined pathogenic variants
- as per ACOG, ethnic-specific, pan-ethnic, and expanded carrier screening are acceptable options
% Pregnancies with major anatomic malformations
2-3% with cardiac and GU anomalies most common
Most common genetic cause of miscarriage and birth defects
aneuploidy
Incidence of chromosomal abnormalities in live births
1/150
Risk Factors for Trisomies
- maternal age
- younger women generally have more children than older women, so majority of pregnancies affected occur in younger women
Do monosomies have an age-related risk?
no
Does triploidy have an age-related risk?
no
Methods of Screening for Aneuploidy
- age
- serum screening
- ultrasound
- cfDNA/NIPS
Age
- AMA = 35y at EDD
- 35y is arbitrary cutoff that originates from when amnios were first routinely used
- risk of DS = risk of miscarriage from amnio (1/200)
- 27% detection rate
First Trimester Screening
- analyte evaluation: PAPP-A, hCG
- ultrasound evaluation (11-14w): CRL, NT (>2.5-3mm abnormal - f/u with invasive testing, early anatomy scan, fetal echo), nasal bone
FTS Patterns
- DS: increased NT, decreased PAPP-A, increased hCG
- T18/T13: increased NT, decreased PAPP-A and hCG
Second Trimester Screening
- triple screen: AFP, hCG, uE3; 69% detection for DS
- quad screen: AFP, hCG (made by placenta), uE3, inhibin A; 80% detection for DS and ONTD; 15w - 22w; may be combined with FTS
- penta screen: AFP, hCG, uE3, inhibin A, hyperglycosylated hCG; 83% detection for DS
STS Patterns
- ONTDs: increased AFP
- DS: decreased AFP, decreased uE3, increased hCG, increased inhibin A
- T18/T13: decreased AFP, decreased uE3, decreased hCG, inhibin A N/A
Other Problems Affecting STS Analytes
- wrong dates (inhibin A helpful)
- miscarriage
- stillbirth
- IUGR
- infant death/IUFD
- HTN/preeclampsia
- antepartum hemorrhage
- oligohydramnios
- placental abnormalities
- low uE3 may also indicate SLOS, X-linked ichthyosis, steroid sulfatase deficiencies
msAFP
- performed during second trimester
- if elevated, increased risk for ONTDs; f/u with AFAFP, ACHE, anatomy scan
- other reasons for elevated AFP include underestimated GA, ventral wall defect, unrecognized twin gestation, fetal demise, abnormality in fetal kidneys, placental insufficiency, maternal malignancy, adverse outcomes
T/F: Additional screening for aneuploidy in women who have negative screening is recommended
False
T/F: Simultaneous testing with multiple screening methodologies for aneuploidy is recommended
False
T/F: Woman with a positive result on serum screening may consider NIPS if they want to avoid invasive testing
True
NIPS
- fetal component of cfDNA released into maternal circulation primarily from placental cells undergoing apoptosis and comprises 3-13% of total cfDNA in maternal blood
- reliably performed after 9-10w GA
- MPS based NIPS detects triploidy since extra amounts of chromosome present above what’s expected
- SNP based NIPS can be used in twin pregnancies, for surrogates or egg donor pregnancies, to detect triploidy and vanishing twins
- if positive, f/u with invasive testing with amniocentesis > CVS with karyotype or microarray
- T13 and Turner more commonly associated with CPM
- low fetal fraction may associated with aneuploidy
- no call results may be due to sample problem, assay failure, low fetal fraction, obesity, aneuploidy
- false positives may be due to CPM, vanishing twin, rare autosomal trisomies, large segmental aberrations, fetal sex discordance, maternal acquired or consitutional alterations, non-malignant maternal disease, benign maternal del/dups
- false negatives may be due to high BMI, early gestational age, hemolysis in sample, maternal anticoagulation therapy, true fetal mosaicism, normal vanishing twin, maternal deletion and trisomy in fetus
Fetal Sex Discordance on NIPS
- u/s and karyotype male, NIPS female: low fetal fraction, placenta sex chromosome mosaicism, demise of female co-twin
- NIPS and karyotype male, u/s female: SLOS, mutations in sex development genes
- NIPS and karyotype female, u/s male: CAH, SRY translocation
- u/s and karyotype female, NIPS male: placental sex chromosome mosaicism, demise of male co-twin, maternal history of transplantation from male donor, recent blood transfusion from male donor
% Of first trimester miscarriages due to aneuploidy
50%
% Of pregnancies overall that miscarry
10-15%
Other uses for NIPS
- microdeletions/duplications
- single gene disorders (especially APA)
- genome wide (not recommended, CMA recommended instead)
First Trimester Ultrasound
- establishes viability
- fetal number, chorionicity, vanishing twin
- gestational age
- view uterus
- early detection of congenital anomalies
- early aneuploidy screening
- patient and family bonding (heart rate, pictures)
Second Trimester Ultrasound
- examine fetal anatomy
- fetal size
- aneuploidy screening
- placental location
- cervical length measurement
- patient and family bonding (fetal sex, 3D u/s pictures)
Additional Ultrasounds
- 3D/4D imaging
- biophysical profile
- color doppler flow
- fetal echo
- transvaginal ultrasound
- guidance for diagnostic procedures
Soft Markers
anatomic findings on u/s that are not congenital anomalies and may be normal variants that resolve on their own
Increased Nuchal Fold
- soft marker
- thickening of fetal neck area
- strongest second-trimester marker
- increased risk of DS, Noonan
- fetal echo recommended
Intracardiac Echogenic Focus
- soft marker
- echogenic area in region of papillary muscles of fetal heart
- common in Asians
- increased risk for DS
- no association with structural cardiac abnormalities or dysfunction
Renal Pyelectasis
- soft marker
- dilation of renal pelvis that may be uni/bilateral, stable, progressive, or resolves
- more common in male fetuses
- increased risk for DS, urinary tract abnormalities
Echogenic Bowel
- soft marker
- fetal bowel as bright as bone but may be a subjective finding
- may be normal variant
- increased risk for aneuploidy, CMV infection, CF, intra-amniotic bleeding, GI tract abnormality
Shortened Long Bones
- soft marker
- some ethnic variation present (Caucasian femoral length > African American, Asian)
- short humerus marker for DS
- short long bones may be marker for skeletal dysplasia
Choroid Plexus Cyst
- soft marker
- cysts within fetal choroid plexus that result from entrapment of CSF in tangled villi
- 95% resolve by end of 2nd trimester
- increased risk for T18
- in absence of aneuploidy, not associated with increased risk for brain problems/delays
Ventriculomegaly
- soft marker
- dilation of fetal cerebral ventricles
- may be mild (normal neurodevelopment), moderate (most likely normal neurodevelopment), severe (need shunt)
- male fetuses more commonly affected
- marker for DS
- fetal MRI recommended
Single Umbilical Artery/2-Vessel Cord
- soft marker
- most common anomaly of umbilical cord
- increased risk for GU anomalies, cardiac anomalies, IUGR, aneuploidy (if not isolated)
Hypoplastic/Absent Nasal Bone
- soft marker
- little to no ossification of nasal bone observed
- may be normal variant
- significantly increases risk for T212
T/F: If >1 marker detected, risk for aneuploidy increases
True
T/F: Detection of a soft marker after negative NIPS significantly increases risk for aneuploidy
False
Structural Abnormalities
- significantly increase risk for fetal morbidity and mortality
- present in 2-3% of all pregnancies
- majority detected in second trimester
Structural Abnormalities Detected in First Trimester
acrania, anencephaly, cystic hygroma, severe heart defects
Congenital Heart Defects
- structural abnormality
- most common birth defect; 1-2% of all live births
- may be due to syndromic pathogenic CNVs, aneuploidy, single gene disorders, environmental, mutifactorial causes
- may be suspected in first trimester by increased NT
- fetal echo, fetal u/s, prenatal diagnosis, cardiology consultation recommended
- recurrence risk: 1-4% if isolated
AV Canal
DS
Coarctation of Aorta
Turner
Tetralogy of Fallot
22q11.2 (other conotruncal heart defects common too)
Ebstein’s anomaly
Lithium exposure
Pulmonary Valve Stenosis
Noonan
Supravalvular Aortic Stenosis
Williams
Anencephaly
- structural abnormality (ONTD)
- failure of closure of anterior neural tube
- multifactorial etiology
- associated with T18
- likely to lead to IUFD
- recurrence risk: 3-4%
Encephalocele
- structural abnormality (CNTD)
- skin-covered defect affecting cranium in occipital, frontal, or parietal regions
- prognosis and severity dependent on how much neural tissue involved
- associated with T13
- fetal MRI recommended
Myelomeningocele
- structural abnormality (most common ONTD)
- failure of vertebral arches to close prior to 6th week of pregnancy leading to protrusion of neural elements and meninges
- often located in lumbosacral region (bowel/bladder functions affected, ambulation affected)
- associated with T18
- may be observed in u/s by cranial changes and clubfoot
- fetal MRI recommended
- prenatal repair may be an option