Paternity testing after pregnancy termination using laser microdissection of chorionic villi

Abstract

We report an unusual case of paternity testing from residues of chorionic villi 5 weeks after pregnancy termination. The autopsy of a 32-year-old female homicide victim revealed the presence of intact chorionic villi at the former placenta implantation site. Fetal cells were selectively isolated by laser-induced microdissection of the remaining villi to avoid contamination with maternal DNA. Simultaneous amplification of 12 STR loci in 2 PCR reactions resulted in a combined probability of paternity of 99.94%. This case demonstrates that laser-assisted microdissection and multiplex STR typing provide tools for paternity testing performed on endometrial mucosa long after the product of conception was removed by therapeutic abortion.

Molecular pathology in forensic medicine—Introduction

“…-determination of cause and manner of death [1][2][3][4]12,14,15,[18][19][20][21]31,38,39,56,57,60,[67][68][69]; -determination of the time since death or the age of bloodstains [8,9]; -tissue identification [5][6][7]10,73,74]; -wound age estimation; -toxicogenetics [25,26,34,35,41,42,49,55,62,66,71].…”

Emerging technologies for the identification of therapeutic targets for the management of pre-eclampsia

“…Microdissection allowed villi to be recovered free of maternal contamination. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of 12 short tandem repeat loci led to a 99.94% probability of paternity being achieved [33].…”

Forensic DNA expertise of incest in early period of pregnancy

“…7 In the event of pregnancy after rape, paternity determination to identify the perpetrator can be performed prenatally by biopsy, by amniocentesis or by using abortion material as the source of DNA. 8 After termination of pregnancy, the abortion material consists of a mixture of fetal and maternal tissue and blood. Typing of short tandem repeat (STR) loci from fetal components has been very effective, but complications may arise if maternal tissue predominates, wherein the interpretation of the results may be more complicated.…”