Expanding the Scope of Non-invasive Prenatal Testing to Detect Fetal Chromosomal Copy Number Variations

Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for common fetal trisomies is effective. However, the usefulness of cell-free DNA testing to detect other chromosomal abnormalities is poorly understood. We analyzed the positive rate at different read depths in next-generation sequencing (NGS) and identified a strategy for fetal copy number variant (CNV) detection in NIPT. Pregnant women who underwent NIPT by NGS at read depths of 4-6 M and fetuses with suspected CNVs were analyzed by amniocentesis and chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA). These fetus samples were re-sequenced at a read depth of 25 M and the positive detection rate was determined. With the increase in read depth, the positive CNV detection rate increased. The positive CNV detection rates at 25 M with small fragments were higher by NGS than by karyotype analysis. Increasing read depth in NGS improves the positive CNV detection rate while lowering the false positive detection rate. NIPT by NGS may be an accurate method of fetal chromosome analysis and reduce the rate of birth defects.

Automated summary

Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) is effective for common fetal trisomies, but the usefulness of cell-free DNA testing for other chromosomal abnormalities is not well understood. Increasing the read depth in next-generation sequencing (NGS) improves positive CNV detection rates and reduces false positives, potentially making NIPT by NGS an accurate method for analyzing fetal chromosomes and reducing birth defects.