Chromosomal Microarray in Patients with Non-Syndromic Autism Spectrum Disorders in the Clinical Routine of a Tertiary Hospital.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) comprise a group of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) characterized by deficits in communication and social interaction, as well as repetitive and restrictive behaviors, etc. The genetic implications of ASD have been widely documented, and numerous genes have been associated with it. The use of chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) has proven to be a rapid and effective method for detecting both small and large deletions and duplications associated with ASD. In this article, we present the implementation of CMA as a first-tier test in our clinical laboratory for patients with primary ASD over a prospective period of four years. The cohort was composed of 212 individuals over 3 years of age, who met DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for ASD. The use of a customized array-CGH (comparative genomic hybridization) design (KaryoArray®) found 99 individuals (45.20%) with copy number variants (CNVs); 34 of them carried deletions (34.34%) and 65 duplications (65.65%). A total of 28 of 212 patients had pathogenic or likely pathogenic CNVs, representing approximately 13% of the cohort. In turn, 28 out of 212 (approximately 12%) had variants of uncertain clinical significance (VUS). Our findings involve clinically significant CNVs, known to cause ASD (syndromic and non-syndromic), and other CNVs previously related to other comorbidities such as epilepsy or intellectual disability (ID). Lastly, we observed new rearrangements that will enhance the information available and the collection of genes associated with this disorder. Our data also highlight that CMA could be very useful in diagnosing patients with essential/primary autism, and demonstrate the existence of substantial genetic and clinical heterogeneity in non-syndromic ASD individuals, underscoring the continued challenge for genetic laboratories in terms of its molecular diagnosis.

Variability in Phelan-McDermid Syndrome in a Cohort of 210 Individuals.

Phelan-McDermid syndrome (PMS, OMIM# 606232) results from either different rearrangements at the distal region of the long arm of chromosome 22 (22q13.3) or pathogenic sequence variants in the SHANK3 gene. SHANK3 codes for a structural protein that plays a central role in the formation of the postsynaptic terminals and the maintenance of synaptic structures. Clinically, patients with PMS often present with global developmental delay, absent or severely delayed speech, neonatal hypotonia, minor dysmorphic features, and autism spectrum disorders (ASD), among other findings. Here, we describe a cohort of 210 patients with genetically confirmed PMS. We observed multiple variant types, including a significant number of small deletions (<0.5 Mb, 64/189) and SHANK3 sequence variants (21 cases). We also detected multiple types of rearrangements among microdeletion cases, including a significant number with post-zygotic mosaicism (9.0%, 17/189), ring chromosome 22 (10.6%, 20/189), unbalanced translocations (de novo or inherited, 6.4%), and additional rearrangements at 22q13 (6.3%, 12/189) as well as other copy number variations in other chromosomes, unrelated to 22q deletions (14.8%, 28/189). We compared the clinical and genetic characteristics among patients with different sizes of deletions and with SHANK3 variants. Our findings suggest that SHANK3 plays an important role in this syndrome but is probably not uniquely responsible for all the spectrum features in PMS. We emphasize that only an adequate combination of different molecular and cytogenetic approaches allows an accurate genetic diagnosis in PMS patients. Thus, a diagnostic algorithm is proposed.

Prenatal ultrasound findings in Koolen-de Vries foetuses: Central nervous system anomalies are frequent markers of this syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: Prenatal diagnoses of microdeletion syndromes without ultrasound findings in the first and second trimester are always difficult. The objective of this study is to report the prenatal ultrasound findings in four foetuses diagnosed with 17q21.31 microdeletions (Koolen-de Vries syndrome) using chromosomal microarrays (CMA). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We present four foetuses with 17q21.31 microdeletion. All showed CNS anomalies in the third trimester, three had ventriculomegaly, and one hypogenesis of corpus callosum at 31 weeks of pregnancy. RESULTS: Array-SNPs and CGH-array were performed on uncultured amniocytes and peripheral blood revealing a 17q21.31 microdeletion. CONCLUSIONS: Prenatal CNS anomalies (mainly ventriculomegaly) at third trimester, in spite of isolate, should be considered a prenatal ultrasound marker of this syndrome. This kind of malformations raise the possibility of an underlying genetic conditions including 17q21.31 microdeletion; thus, CMA should be taken into consideration when offering prenatal genetic counselling.

Symptomatic heterozygous X-Linked myotubular myopathy female patient with a large deletion at Xq28 and decrease expression of normal allele.

X-linked myotubular myopathy (XLMTM; OMIM 310400) is a centronuclear congenital muscular disorder of X-linked recessive inheritance. Although female carriers are typically asymptomatic, affected heterozygous females have been described. Here, we describe the case of a sporadic female patient with suspicion of centronuclear myopathy and a heterozygous large deletion at Xq28 encompassing the MAMLD1, MTM1, MTMR1, CD99L2, and HMGB3 genes. The deletion was first detected using a custom next generation sequencing (NGS)-based multigene panel and finally characterized by comparative genomic hybridization array and multiplex ligation probe assay techniques. In this patient we have confirmed, by MTM1 mRNA quantification, a MTM1 gene expression less than the expected 50 percent in patient muscle. The significant 20% reduction in MTM1 mRNA expression in muscle, precludes low level of the normal myotubularin protein as the cause of the phenotype in this heterozygous female. We have also found that BIN1 expression in patient muscle biopsy was significantly increased, and postulate that BIN1 expression will be increased in XLMTM patient muscle as an attempt to maintain muscle function.

Implementation of chromosomal microarrays in a cohort of patients with intellectual disability at the Argentinean public health system.

Intellectual disability is a neurodevelopmental disorder in which genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors are involved. In consequence, the determination of its etiology is usually complex. Though many countries have migrated from conventional cytogenetic analysis to chromosomal microarrays as the first-tier genetic test for patients with this condition, this last technique was implemented in our country a few years ago. We report on the results of the implementation of chromosomal microarrays in a cohort of 133 patients with intellectual disability and dysmorphic features, normal karyotype and normal subtelomeric MLPA results in an Argentinean public health institution. Clinically relevant copy number variants were found in 12% of the patients and one or more copy number variants classified as variants of uncertain significance were found in 5.3% of them. Although the diagnostic yield of chromosomal microarrays is greater than conventional cytogenetics for these patients, there are financial limitations to adopt this technique as a first-tier test in our country, especially in the public health system.

De novo unbalanced translocations have a complex history/aetiology.

We investigated 52 cases of de novo unbalanced translocations, consisting in a terminally deleted or inverted-duplicated deleted (inv-dup del) 46th chromosome to which the distal portion of another chromosome or its opposite end was transposed. Array CGH, whole-genome sequencing, qPCR, FISH, and trio genotyping were applied. A biparental origin of the deletion and duplication was detected in 6 cases, whereas in 46, both imbalances have the same parental origin. Moreover, the duplicated region was of maternal origin in more than half of the cases, with 25% of them showing two maternal and one paternal haplotype. In all these cases, maternal age was increased. These findings indicate that the primary driver for the occurrence of the de novo unbalanced translocations is a maternal meiotic non-disjunction, followed by partial trisomy rescue of the supernumerary chromosome present in the trisomic zygote. In contrast, asymmetric breakage of a dicentric chromosome, originated either at the meiosis or postzygotically, in which the two resulting chromosomes, one being deleted and the other one inv-dup del, are repaired by telomere capture, appears at the basis of all inv-dup del translocations. Notably, this mechanism also fits with the origin of some simple translocations in which the duplicated region was of paternal origin. In all cases, the signature at the translocation junctions was that of non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) rather than non-allelic homologous recombination (NAHR). Our data imply that there is no risk of recurrence in the following pregnancies for any of the de novo unbalanced translocations we discuss here.

FOXP1-related intellectual disability syndrome: a recognisable entity.

BACKGROUND: Mutations in forkhead box protein P1 (FOXP1) cause intellectual disability (ID) and specific language impairment (SLI), with or without autistic features (MIM: 613670). Despite multiple case reports no specific phenotype emerged so far. METHODS: We correlate clinical and molecular data of 25 novel and 23 previously reported patients with FOXP1 defects. We evaluated FOXP1 activity by an in vitro luciferase model and assessed protein stability in vitro by western blotting. RESULTS: Patients show ID, SLI, neuromotor delay (NMD) and recurrent facial features including a high broad forehead, bent downslanting palpebral fissures, ptosis and/or blepharophimosis and a bulbous nasal tip. Behavioural problems and autistic features are common. Brain, cardiac and urogenital malformations can be associated. More severe ID and NMD, sensorineural hearing loss and feeding difficulties are more common in patients with interstitial 3p deletions (14 patients) versus patients with monogenic FOXP1 defects (34 patients). Mutations result in impaired transcriptional repression and/or reduced protein stability. CONCLUSIONS: FOXP1-related ID syndrome is a recognisable entity with a wide clinical spectrum and frequent systemic involvement. Our data will be helpful to evaluate genotype-phenotype correlations when interpreting next-generation sequencing data obtained in patients with ID and/or SLI and will guide clinical management.

Analysis of invdupdel(8p) rearrangement: Clinical, cytogenetic and molecular characterization.

Inverted duplication 8p associated with deletion of the short arms of chromosome 8 (invdupdel[8p]) is a relatively uncommon complex chromosomal rearrangement, with an estimated incidence of 1 in 10,000-30,000 live borns. The chromosomal rearrangement consists of a deletion of the telomeric region (8p23-pter) and an inverted duplication of the 8p11.2-p22 region. Clinical manifestations of this disorder include severe to moderate intellectual disability and characteristic facial features. In most cases, there are also CNS associated malformations and congenital heart defects. In this work, we present the cytogenetic and molecular characterization of seven children with invdupdel(8p) rearrangements. Subsequently, we have carried out genotype-phenotype correlations in these seven patients. The majority of our patients carry a similar deletion but different size of duplications; the latter probably explaining the phenotypic variability among them. We recommend that complete clinical evaluation and detailed chromosomal microarray studies should be undertaken, enabling appropriate genetic counseling.

Familial imbalance in 16p13.11 leads to a dosage compensation rearrangement in an unaffected carrier.

BACKGROUND: We and others have previously reported that familial cytogenetic studies in apparently de novo genomic imbalances may reveal complex or uncommon inheritance mechanisms. METHODS: A familial, combined genomic and cytogenetic approach was systematically applied to the parents of all patients with unbalanced genome copy number changes. RESULTS: Discordant array-CGH and FISH results in the mother of a child with a prenatally detected 16p13.11 interstitial microduplication disclosed a balanced uncommon rearrangement in this chromosomal region. Further dosage and haplotype familial studies revealed that both the maternal grandfather and uncle had also the same 16p duplication as the proband. Genomic compensation observed in the mother probably occurred as a consequence of interchromosomal postzygotic nonallelic homologous recombination. CONCLUSIONS: We emphasize that such a dualistic strategy is essential for the full characterization of genomic rearrangements as well as for appropriate genetic counseling.

New microdeletion and microduplication syndromes: A comprehensive review.

Several new microdeletion and microduplication syndromes are emerging as disorders that have been proven to cause multisystem pathologies frequently associated with intellectual disability (ID), multiple congenital anomalies (MCA), autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) and other phenotypic findings. In this paper, we review the "new" and emergent microdeletion and microduplication syndromes that have been described and recognized in recent years with the aim of summarizing their main characteristics and chromosomal regions involved. We decided to group them by genomic region and within these groupings have classified them into those that include ID, MCA, ASD or other findings. This review does not intend to be exhaustive but is rather a quick guide to help pediatricians, clinical geneticists, cytogeneticists and/or molecular geneticists.

Constitutional mosaic genome-wide uniparental disomy due to diploidisation: an unusual cancer-predisposing mechanism.

Molecular studies in a patient with Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome phenotype who developed two different tumours revealed an unexpected observation of almost complete loss of heterozygosity of all chromosomes. It is shown, by means of numerous molecular methods, that the absence of maternal contribution in somatic cells is due to high-degree (∼ 85%) genome-wide paternal uniparental disomy (UPD). The observations indicate that the genome-wide UPD results from diploidisation, and have important implications for genetic counselling and tumour surveillance for the growing number of UPD associated imprinting disorders.

Mietens-Weber syndrome: two new patients and a review.

In 1966, Mietens and Weber reported four out of six siblings from a consanguineous couple with growth failure, dislocation of the head of the radii, bilateral flexion contracture of the elbows, short ulnae and radii, bilateral corneal opacities, horizontal and rotational nystagmus, strabismus, small, pointed nose and mild to moderate mental retardation. Since then, only three other cases have been reported. We report on two new cases, a pair of female twins aged 9 years. The patients were born after an uneventful, normal pregnancy, to young and non-consanguineous parents. After birth, physical findings included horizontal nystagmus and dislocation of both elbows because of abnormally short radii and ulnae in both twins. Further clinical examinations showed moderate psychomotor delay with marked language compromise. Karyotypes were normal in both girls. A review of the literature reveals that the Mietens-Weber syndrome is an uncommon disorder with a probable autosomal recessive pattern of inheritance. To our best knowledge, including the two cases reported here, only nine cases have been observed so far. The finding of congenital nystagmus and radii dislocation in a patient with mental retardation is probably nonrandom and is highly suggestive of Mietens-Weber syndrome.