Cs. Vonkaisenberg et al., CARDIAC GENE-EXPRESSION OF GATA-4 TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR IN HUMAN TRISOMY-21 FETUSES WITH INCREASED NUCHAL TRANSLUCENCY, Prenatal diagnosis, 18(3), 1998, pp. 267-271
This study examines GATA-4 gene expression in cardiac tissue from fetu
ses with trisomy 21 presenting with increased nuchal translucency thic
kness at 10-14 weeks of gestation. mRNA was extracted from cardiac tis
sue after termination of pregnancy at 10-18 weeks of gestation in ten
trisomy 21 fetuses and 29 normal controls. Northern and slot blots wer
e performed and densitometric analysis of slot blots was used to deter
mine the steady-state levels of expression of GATA-4. GATA-4 transcrip
t levels were also compared with ANP and BNP, which have previously be
en measured in the same panel of samples. GATA-4 expression increased
significantly with gestation but there was no significant difference b
etween fetuses with trisomy 21 and controls. There was no significant
association between GATA-4 expression and the steady-slate level of tr
anscripts for the natriuretic peptides. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Lt
d.