Increased TERC gene copy number in amniocytes from fetuses with trisomy 18 or a sex chromosome aneuploidy

Objective: Individuals with chromosomal aneuploidies tend to develop malignancies. Telomerase is an enzyme complex that lengthens telomeres and has enhanced expression in numerous malignancies; one of its components is encoded by the TERC gene. In this study, we evaluated the TERC gene copy number in amniocytes from fetuses with aneuploidy, other than trisomy-21. Methods: In this prospective, basic research study, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) for the TERC gene (3q26) was applied to amniocytes retrieved from 14 fetuses with various aneuploidies and from a control group of 6 fetuses with a normal karyotype, to determine the TERC gene copy number. Results: The percentage of cells with more than two copies of the TERC gene was lowest in the control group (x3 = 1.2 +/- 0.4%; x4 = 0 +/- 0%), higher in the sex chromosome aneuploidies (x3 = 4 +/- 3%; x4 = 0.7 +/- 0.95%) and even higher in trisomy 18 (x3 = 10.6 +/- 23; x4 = 4.6 +/- 1.8). The differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion: The TERC gene copy number is increased in aneuploid amniocytes, which demonstrates their genetic instability and is presumably related to their tendency to develop malignancies. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V.