Subtelomeric 6p25 deletion/duplication: Report of a patient with new clinical findings and genotype-phenotype correlations.

The 6p terminal deletions are rare and present variability of clinical features, which increases the importance of reporting additional cases in order to better characterize genotype-phenotype correlations. We report a 12-year-old girl with a de novo deletion in 6p25.1-pter characterized by high-resolution karyotyping and FISH. Further analysis using oligonucleotide array-CGH revealed a 5.06 Mb 6p25.1-pter deletion associated with a contiguous 1 Mb 6p25.1 duplication. The patient presented normal growth, developmental delay, frontal bossing, severe hypertelorism, corectopia, wide and depressed nasal bridge, mild learning disability, hearing loss and diffuse leukopathy. Additionaly, she presented peculiar phenotypic features reported herein for the first time in 6p25 deletion syndrome: cerebrospinal fluid fistula and bones resembling those seen in 3-M syndrome. The distinctive phenotype of the 6p25 deletion syndrome has been mainly correlated with the FOXC1 and FOXF2 genes deletions, both related mainly to eye development. We also consider the SERPINB6 as a candidate for sensorineural hearing loss and TUBB2A as a candidate for our patient's skeletal features. In addition, as our patient had a duplication including NRN1, a gene related with neurodevelopment, synaptic plasticity and cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia, we suggest that this gene could be associated with her white matter abnormalities and neurocognitive phenotype.

Dental developmental abnormalities in a patient with subtelomeric 7q36 deletion syndrome may confirm a novel role for the SHH gene.

Studies in mice demonstrated that the Shh gene is crucial for normal development of both incisors and molars, causing a severe retardation in tooth growth, which leads to abnormal placement of the tooth in the jaw and disrupted tooth morphogenesis. In humans the SHH gene is located on chromosome 7q36. Defects in its protein or signaling pathway may cause holoprosencephaly spectrum, a disorder in which the developing forebrain fails to correctly separate into right and left hemispheres and that can be manifested in microforms such as single maxillary central incisor. A novel role for this gene in the developing human primary dentition was recently demonstrated. We report a 12-year old boy with a de novo 7q36.1-qter deletion characterized by high-resolution karyotyping, oligonucleotide aCGH and FISH. His phenotype includes intellectual disability, non-verbal communication, hypospadia, partial sacral agenesis and absence of coccyx, which are distinctive features of the syndrome and mainly correlated with the MNX1, HTR5A and EN2 genes. No microforms of holoprosencephaly spectrum were observed; but the patient had diastema and dental developmental abnormalities, such as conical, asymmetric and tapered inferior central incisors. The dental anomalies are reported herein for the first time in subtelomeric 7q36 deletion syndrome and may confirm clinically a novel role for the SHH gene in dental development.

Genome-wide screening of copy number variants in children born small for gestational age reveals several candidate genes involved in growth pathways.

BACKGROUND: The etiology of prenatal-onset short stature with postnatal persistence is heterogeneous. Submicroscopic chromosomal imbalances, known as copy number variants (CNVs), may play a role in growth disorders. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the CNVs present in a group of patients born small for gestational age (SGA) without a known cause. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 51 patients with prenatal and postnatal growth retardation associated with dysmorphic features and/or developmental delay, but without criteria for the diagnosis of known syndromes, were selected. Array-based comparative genomic hybridization was performed using DNA obtained from all patients. The pathogenicity of CNVs was assessed by considering the following criteria: inheritance; gene content; overlap with genomic coordinates for a known genomic imbalance syndrome; and overlap with CNVs previously identified in other patients with prenatal-onset short stature. RESULTS: In 17 of the 51 patients, 18 CNVs were identified. None of these imbalances has been reported in healthy individuals. Nine CNVs, found in eight patients (16%), were categorized as pathogenic or probably pathogenic. Deletions found in three patients overlapped with known microdeletion syndromes (4q, 10q26, and 22q11.2). These imbalances are de novo, gene rich and affect several candidate genes or genomic regions that may be involved in the mechanisms of growth regulation. CONCLUSION: Pathogenic CNVs in the selected patients born SGA were common (at least 16%), showing that rare CNVs are probably among the genetic causes of short stature in SGA patients and revealing genomic regions possibly implicated in this condition.