#148: Cell-free DNA | New development in SnT

GS3 SnT Notes

Cell-free DNA (cfDNA)

What?

- Fragments of DNA released from containers which are present in the body fluids outside the cell
- Helps in understanding human diseases
- Can have multiple ways to have them generated and released from a cell
- including death of the cell or degraded nucleic acid
- Normal development or related to cancers/diseases

Applications of cfDNA

1. Foetus Screening

- Screen foetuses for any form of abnormalities related to chromosomes
- Needs just few mm blood of mother after 9-10 weeks of pregnancy
- Helps recognize life long illness at an early stage

2. Cancer recognition

- Early detection, diagnosis and treatment of cancers
- New test: Genome-wide Mutational Incidence for Non-Invasive detection of cancer (GEMINI) devised in US to test for cancers on cfDNA

3. Transplants

- Helps in recognizing why body is rejecting transplanted organ
- cfDNA will be able to send signal earlier than other markers in case something wrt transplanted organs is going to go wrong

4. Other use cases

- Biomarker for neurological disorders (eg: Alzheimer's, neuronal tumor, stroke)

Effectively, cfDNA research offers the way forward to an effective disease-screening which will lead to a healthier world

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