Evaluation of two markers of cell maturation and proliferation in cultured amniotic cells of trisomic 18 fetuses at the 15th week of gestation

Abstract Intensive studies have been conducted so far on biochemical markers available for screening of chromosome defects in obstetrical monitoring. In this paper we report further data on two protein phosphatases: alkaline phosphatase (a marker of cell maturation) and phosphotyrosine phosphatase (a marker of cell proliferation) assayed in cultured amniotic cells from fetuses with trisomy 18 at 15 weeks of gestation. Comparison with normal fetal cells showed a different behaviour for each enzyme: alkaline phosphatase was very significantly lowered while phosphotyrosine phosphatase remained at normal levels. These results provide a further enlargement of the field of biochemical markers used in the screening tests of trisomy 18.