I performed a QC step, using a TapeStation High Sensitivity D1000 screen tape, on my extracted plasma cell free DNA (cfDNA) prior to starting my library prep.

What should I look for in the TapeStation analysis traces?

The TapeStation profile and yield of extracted cfDNA will vary depending on the input sample. The following descriptions and images give examples of these:

a) cfDNA extracted from cancer patients will be a mixture of cfDNA from the normal process of apoptosis and circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) shed from the patient’s tumour. The amount of ctDNA shed into the blood varies with tumour type, stage and whether the patient has received treatment. There is a size difference observed in fragment length between cfDNA derived from the tumour and the patient’s normal background cfDNA. The normal cfDNA is generally around 166 bp (160-180bp peak), which corresponds to the length of DNA wrapped around the nucleosome and is likely to be the result of normal apoptosis. Peaks in multiples of 160-180 bp are often observed. The ctDNA portion in the sample is generally a smaller peak and reveal a shorter fragment length of approx. 145bp.

b) cfDNA extracted from patients with inflammatory conditions, infections, late stage cancer or transplant rejection may reveal larger peaks of cfDNA on the TapeStation analysis. You may see several peaks of differing sizes as multiples of 166bp (e.g. 332bp, 498bp, 664bp…).

Fig.2. Example of cell free DNA profile for patient with an inflammatory condition.