CELL-FREE
DNA - BIOTECHNOLOGY
News:
Cell-free DNA promises to
transform how we find diseases
What's
in the news?
●
Cell-free
DNA (cfDNA) is a useful technique that is being used by researchers all over
the world to better understand human
diseases and enhance diagnosis, monitoring, and prognosis.
What is Cell-free DNA?
●
Small nucleic acid fragments known as
CfDNA are discovered in bodily fluids outside of cells after being discharged
from cells.
●
It
was initially noticed in the blood of pregnant women in the late 1940s, which
is when it was first discovered.
●
Cell
death and other physiological processes, for example, can both manufacture and
release cfDNA from the cells.
●
Several
disease processes, including autoimmune conditions like systemic lupus
erythematosus, are linked to the release of cfDNA.
How is Cell Free DNA different from
Normal DNA?
|
Cell
Free DNA |
Normal
DNA |
|
It is found
in the bloodstream and other fluids present in the body. |
Found within the cell nucleus or mitochondria. |
|
It is used in
Forensic for DNA profiling and investigations. |
It is not used in Forensic. |
|
It exists in
Fragmented form. |
It exists in the form of a double helix structure. |
|
It can be used in detecting infectious diseases. |
It is not used for detecting infectious diseases. |
Applications
of cfDNA:
1.
Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing:
● One
of the most widely used applications of cfDNA has been in screening foetuses
for specific chromosomal abnormalities.
● The
availability of affordable genome-sequencing approaches will allow clinicians
to sequence cfDNA fragments that correspond to foetal DNA.
● They
can then use it to understand specific
chromosomal abnormalities that involve changes in the chromosomal copy
number.
● Such
changes can lead to conditions like Down’s
syndrome, which is due to a change in chromosome 21.
2.
Monitoring Cancer:
● Researchers
have developed a new test they have dubbed ‘Genome-wide
Mutational Incidence for Non-Invasive detection of cancer’, or ‘GEMINI’.
● This
is a type of genetic mutation that, when combined with machine-learning
approaches, could provide a way to detect cancer early.
● Using
a particular machine-learning model, some genomic data, and data from a
computed tomography (CT) scan, the researchers could successfully detect lung
cancer.
● It
was discovered to be able to identify over 300 people who had a very high risk
of acquiring lung cancer.
3.
Organ Transplantation:
● Using
cfDNA applications, it may be possible to determine why the body is rejecting a
transplanted organ. Here, donor-derived
cfDNA, also known as dd-cfDNA, can be used to obtain an early yet precise
estimation of how well the organ is being assimilated.
4.
Other Uses:
● CfDNA
could be employed as a biomarker for
metabolic diseases like type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver
disease, as well as neurological disorders like Alzheimer's disease, neuronal
tumors, stroke, and traumatic brain damage.