Annual Report 2000–01

傑出研究計劃 Outstanding Research Project 醫 學 院 Faculty of Medicine 血循環中的脱氧核糖核酸：生物學及 診斷應用 Circulating DNA: Biological and Diagnostic Applications 這項研究集中探討人體血漿中的脱氧核糖核酸有何生 物學意義及臨床應用價值。化學病理學系盧煜明敎授 於一九九七年首次發現孕婦血漿中含有屬於胎兒的游 離脱氧核糖核酸。盧敎授與硏究小組於是對控制此現 象的重要生物學參數作了全面的研究，並將之應用在 唐氏綜合症、妊娠子癇前期、早產發作、母嬰血型不 配等的產前診斷和監測。 二零零零年，盧敎授發現胎 兒的核糖核酸也存在於母親的血漿內，可用來檢測胎 兒的基因特徵。這新發現也可應用於鼻咽癌和肝癌的 診斷、監察及預防。最新研究結果更顯示，血漿脱氧 核糖核酸研究的臨床應用範圍，可擴展至移植手術和 創傷學。 該計劃的豐碩研究成果，已載於國際權威期刊，包括 《新英格蘭醫學雜誌》、《刺血針》、《美國人類遺傳學 雜誌》和《癌症研究》。是項硏究由香港研究資助局、 創新及科技基金以及嘉道理慈善基金會資助，研究夥 伴包括本校的婦產科學系、腫瘤學系、外科學系、病 理解剖及細胞學系和意外及急救醫學敎學單位，以及 英國牛津大學、美國杜霍茨大學和香港科技大學，證 明了跨科和跨院校合作的重要。 This project aims at studying the biological and diagnostic applications of circulating DNA in the plasma of human subjects. It started from the observation in 1997 by Prof. Dennis Lo of the Department of Chemical Pathology that cell-free foetal DNA can be found circulating in the plasma of pregnant women. Prof. Lo and his research team then characterized the fundamental biological parameter s governing this phenomenon and applied the information to the prenatal diagnosis or monitoring of Down's syndrome, pre-eclampsia, preterm labour, and foeto - maternal blood group mismatches. In 2000, they also discovered the presence of foetal RNA in maternal plasma. This opens up the possibility of monitoring foeta l gene expression profile just by analysing maternal blood. The discovery also leads to important applications in the diagnosis, monitoring, and prognostication of nasopharyngeal carcinoma and liver cancer. Recent data have demonstrated additional clinical applicability of plasma DNA research to areas including transplantation and traumatology. This project has generated numerous papers which have been published in international journals, such as the New E n g l a n d J o u r n a l of M e d i c i n e , L a n c e t , A m e r i c a n J o u r n a l of H u m a n G e n e t i c s , and C a n c e r R e s e a r c h . Financially supported by the RGC, the Innovation and Technology Fund, and the Kadoorie Charitable Foundation, this research project involved the participation of many University units such as the Departments of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Clinical Oncology, Surgery, Anatomical and Cellular Pathology, and the Accident and Emergency Medicine Academic Unit. Essential input has also been drawn from Oxford University, Tufts University, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.