WAGR syndrome and multiple exostoses in a patient with del(11)(p11.2p14.2)

The WAGR syndrome (Wilms' tumour, aniridia, genital anomalies, and mental retardation) is well documented to be associated with a deletion of 11p13. We present a patient with a del(11)(p11.2p14.2) who as well as all the features of WAGR syndrome has multiple exostoses. We suggest that this could be a possible locus for hereditary multiple exostoses.     

WAGR(O?) syndrome and congenital ptosis caused by an unbalanced t(11;15)(p13;p11.2)dn demonstrating a 7 megabase deletion by FISH

Aniridia usually occurs in isolation, but may also occur as part of the WAGR contiguous gene deletion syndrome, which includes Wilms tumor, aniridia, genitourinary abnormalities, and mental retardation. The aniridia and predisposition for Wilms tumor seen in WAGR are caused by haploinsufficiency for PAX 6 and WT1, respectively. We present a female infant with aniridia, bilateral ptosis, bilateral posterior capsular cataracts, nystagmus, left-sided glaucoma, microcephaly, mild unilateral hydronephrosis, poor linear growth, and gross motor delay consistent with a clinical diagnosis of WAGR syndrome. In addition, weight-for-height ratio at 12 months is at the 94th centile, raising the possibility of a diagnosis of WAGRO (WAGR + Obesity). Chromosome analysis revealed a translocation (11;15)(p13;p11.2) which has not been previously associated with a diagnosis of WAGR. Subsequent clinical WAGR fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis demonstrated a deletion of 11p13 including PAX6 and WT1. A complete FISH-mapping of the breakpoints on chromosome 11 revealed a 7 Mb deletion within 11p13-11p14. The patient is examined in light of other reported patients with deletions and/or translocations involving the regions between 11p12 --> 11p14 including patients with WAGR + obesity (WAGRO) as well as with other reported patients with aniridia and congenital ptosis.     

Interstitial deletion of 11 (P11.2p12): A newly described contiguous gene deletion syndrome involving the gene for hereditary multiple exostoses (EXT2)

Individuals with deletions of the proximal portion of the short arm of chromosome 11 share many manifestations including mental retardation, biparietal foramina, minor facial anomalies, and multiple cartilaginous exostoses. The finding of multiple exostoses in these patients is remarkable as the disorder hereditary multiple exostoses, which is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner, has recently been mapped by linkage to three regions, including proximal 11p. We report the clinical and molecular findings in an additional patient with an 11(p11.2p12) deletion. Cytogenetic and molecular analysis demonstrated a de novo, paternally derived deletion for markers which have been shown to be tightly linked to the 11p locus (EXT2). These data support the location of EXT2 within this region and also provide information regarding the ordering of polymorphic markers on 11p. Deletion 11(p11.2p12) is a rare, yet specific, deletion syndrome involving the EXT2 locus, a gene for parietal foramina, and a mental retardation locus, and therefore can be classified as a contiguous gene deletion syndrome. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Construction of a natural panel of 11p11.2 deletions and further delineation of the critical region involved in Potocki-Shaffer syndrome

Potocki-Shaffer syndrome (PSS) is a contiguous gene deletion syndrome that results from haploinsufficiency of at least two genes within the short arm of chromosome 11[del(11)(p11.2p12)]. The clinical features of PSS can include developmental delay, mental retardation, multiple exostoses, parietal foramina, enlarged anterior fontanel, minor craniofacial anomalies, ophthalmologic anomalies, and genital abnormalities in males. We constructed a natural panel of 11p11.2-p13 deletions using cell lines from 10 affected individuals, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), microsatellite analyses, and array-based comparative genomic hybridization (array CGH). We then compared the deletion sizes and clinical features between affected individuals. The full spectrum of PSS manifests when deletions are at least 2.1 Mb in size, spanning from D11S1393 to D11S1385/D11S1319 (44.6-46.7 Mb from the 11p terminus) and encompassing EXT2, responsible for multiple exostoses, and ALX4, causing parietal foramina. Yet one subject with parietal foramina whose deletion does not include ALX4 indicates that ALX4 in this subject may be rendered functionally haploinsufficient by a position effect. Based on comparative deletion mapping of eight individuals with the full PSS syndrome including mental retardation and two PSS families with no mental retardation, at least one gene related to mental retardation is likely located between D11S554 and D11S1385/D11S1319, 45.6-46.7 Mb from the 11p terminus.     

Proximal 11p deletion syndrome (P11pDS): additional evaluation of the clinical and molecular aspects

The combination of multiple exostoses (EXT) and enlarged parietal foramina (foramina parietalia permagna, FPP) represent the main features of the proximal 11p deletion syndrome (P11pDS), a contiguous gene syndrome (MIM 601224) caused by an interstitial deletion on the short arm of chromosome 11. Here we present clinical aspects of two new P11pDS patients and the clinical follow-up of one patient reported in the original paper describing this syndrome. Recognised clinical signs include EXT, FPP, mental retardation, facial asymmetry, asymmetric calcification of coronary sutures, defective vision (severe myopia, nystagmus, strabismus), skeletal anomalies (small hands and feet, tapering fingers), heart defect, and anal stenosis. In addition fluorescence in situ hybridisation and molecular analysis were performed to gain further insight in potential candidate genes involved in P11pDS.     

Multiple exostoses,mental retardation,hypertrichosis, and brain abnormalities in a boy with a de novo 8q24 submicroscopic interstitial deletion

Multiple exostoses represent a genetically heterogeneous disorder that may occur isolated or as part of a complex contiguous gene syndrome such as Langer-Giedion syndrome on chromosome 8 and the proximal 11p deletion syndrome on chromosome 11. Here we describe a boy with multiple exostoses, hypertrichosis, mental retardation, and epilepsy due to a de novo deletion on chromosome 8q24. Molecular analysis revealed that the deletion interval overlaps with the Langer-Giedion syndrome and involves the EXT1 gene and additional genes located distal to EXT1, but probably not encompassing the TRPS1 gene located proximal to EXT1.     

Clinical, cytogenetic and molecular characterization of a patient with combined succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency and incomplete WAGR syndrome with obesity

We describe the clinical course, as well as cytogenetic and molecular findings, of a 3-year-old obese boy with psychomotor retardation who exhibited two rare conditions: succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency (SSADH deficiency, MIM 271980), a disorder of gamma-aminobutyric acid metabolism with a heterogeneous clinical spectrum, and partial Wilms' tumor, aniridia, genital abnormalities, and mental retardation (WAGR) syndrome, an association between Wilms' tumor, aniridia, genitourinary malformations, and mental retardation due to mutations involving the short arm of chromosome 11, particularly deletions at the chromosomal region 11p13 (MIM 194072). Diagnosis of SSADH deficiency in our patient was established by demonstration of absent enzyme activity in isolated leucocytes, and was associated with a novel missense mutation (c.587G>A; p.Gly196Asp) in the SSADH coding sequence. We further confirmed an incomplete WAGR syndrome in this boy [karyotype 46, XY, del (11) (p13p14.2)] with a normal WT1 (Wilms' tumor) gene and an absence of pathology in the genitourinary tract, but with obesity (WAGR syndrome with obesity, WAGRO syndrome). The patient also exhibited distinctive cerebral anomalies such as increased signals of the globi pallidi, internal hydrocephalus and cerebellar vermian atrophy. However, treatment options for this patient are limited, including supportive treatment, physiotherapy, special educational training, and vigabatrin. In summary, we report the first patient with the exceptional rare findings of both SSADH deficiency and partial WAGR/WAGRO syndrome.     

The First Korean Patient with Potocki-Shaffer Syndrome: A Rare Cause of Multiple Exostoses

Potocki-Shaffer syndrome (PSS, OMIM #601224) is a rare contiguous gene deletion syndrome caused by haploinsufficiency of genes located on the 11p11.2p12. Affected individuals have a number of characteristic features including multiple exostoses, biparietal foramina, abnormalities of genitourinary system, hypotonia, developmental delay, and intellectual disability. We report here on the first Korean case of an 8-yr-old boy with PSS diagnosed by high resolution microarray. Initial evaluation was done at age 6 months because of a history of developmental delay, hypotonia, and dysmorphic face. Coronal craniosynostosis and enlarged parietal foramina were found on skull radiographs. At age 6 yr, he had severe global developmental delay. Multiple exostoses of long bones were detected during a radiological check-up. Based on the clinical and radiological features, PSS was highly suspected. Subsequently, chromosomal microarray analysis identified an 8.6 Mb deletion at 11p11.2 [arr 11p12p11.2 (Chr11:39,204,770-47,791,278)×1]. The patient continued rehabilitation therapy for profound developmental delay. The progression of multiple exostosis has being monitored. This case confirms and extends data on the genetic basis of PSS. In clinical and radiologic aspect, a patient with multiple exostoses accompanying with syndromic features, including craniofacial abnormalities and mental retardation, the diagnosis of PSS should be considered.     

Atypical 22q11.2 deletion in a patient with DGS/VCFS spectrum

Deletions in region 22q11.2 usually occur between two low copy repeat regions (LCRs), which are preferred chromosome sites for rearrangements. Most of the deletions encompass the same 3 or 1.5 Mb region, with breakpoints at LCR A and D or at LCR A and B, respectively. We report on a patient with clinical features of the 22q deletion syndrome who presents a novel, atypical deletion, smaller than 1.5 Mb, with distal breakpoint in LCR B and proximal breakpoint within no known LCR site.     

Deletion involving D15S113 in a mother and son without Angelman syndrome: Refinement of the Angelman syndrome critical deletion region

Deletions of 15q11-q13 typically result in Angelman syndrome when inherited from the mother and Prader-Willi syndrome when inherited from the father. The critical deletion region for Angelman syndrome has recently been restricted by a report of an Angelman syndrome patient with a deletion spanning less than 200 kb around the D15S113 locus. We report here on a mother and son with a deletion of chromosome 15 that includes the D15S113 locus. The son has mild to moderate mental retardation and minor anomalies, while the mother has a borderline intellectual deficit and slightly downslanting palpebral fissures. Neither patient has the seizures, excessive laughter and hand clapping, ataxia or the facial anomalies which are characteristic of Angelman syndrome. The proximal boundary of the deletion in our patients lies between the D15S10 and the D15S113 loci. Our patients do not have Angelman syndrome, despite the deletion of the D15S113 marker. This suggests that the Angelman syndrome critical deletion region is now defined as the overlap between the deletion found in the previously reported Angelman syndrome patient and the region that is intact in our patients. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Multiple exostoses,mental retardation,hypertrichosis, and brain abnormalities in a boy with a de novo 8q24 submicroscopic interstitial deletion

Multiple exostoses represent a genetically heterogeneous disorder that may occur isolated or as part of a complex contiguous gene syndrome such as Langer‐Giedion syndrome on chromosome 8 and the proximal 11p deletion syndrome on chromosome 11. Here we describe a boy with multiple exostoses, hypertrichosis, mental retardation, and epilepsy due to a de novo deletion on chromosome 8q24. Molecular analysis revealed that the deletion interval overlaps with the Langer‐Giedion syndrome and involves the EXT1 gene and additional genes located distal to EXT1, but probably not encompassing the TRPS1 gene located proximal to EXT1. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

A FISH approach to defining the extent and possible clinical significance of deletions at the WAGR locus.

Nineteen patients were analysed by fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) with selected 11p13 markers. They were examined because they had either isolated sporadic or familial aniridia, or aniridia with one or more of the WAGR (Wilms' tumour, aniridia, genital anomalies, and mental retardation) syndrome anomalies. The FISH markers from distal 11p13 were cosmids FO2121, PAX6 (aniridia), D11S324, and WT1 (Wilms' tumour predisposition). Two of the patients with isolated aniridia were abnormal, one with an apparently balanced reciprocal 7;11 translocation and an 11p13 breakpoint, which by FISH was shown to be approximately 30 kb distal to the aniridia (PAX6) gene, and the other had a submicroscopic deletion involving part of PAX6 that extended distally for approximately 245 kb. Two patients with aniridia together with other WAGR malformations had deletions involving all four cosmids. One case with aniridia associated with developmental and growth delay had a deletion including FO2121 and PAX6 but not D11S324 and WT1, while in a further case the deletion included all four test cosmids. These studies show that a combined conventional and molecular cytogenetic approach to patients presenting with aniridia is a useful method for differentiating between those with deletions extending into and including WT1 and therefore between those with high and low risks of developing Wilms' tumour.     

Complete trisomy 17p syndrome in a girl with der(14)t(14;17)(p11.2;p11.2)

We report on an 8-year-old girl with near-complete trisomy 17p syndrome due to a de novo unbalanced t(14;17)(p11.2;p11.2). She has features consistent with the previously described cases with complete trisomy 17p, including pre- and post-natal growth retardation, motor and mental retardation, skeletal anomalies, clinodactyly of the 5th finger, hypertrichosis, as well as facial characteristics including microcephaly, receding forehead, ptosis, low-set malformed ears, smooth philtrum, high-arched palate, and a short broad neck. Fluorescence in situ hybridization showed that the breakpoints were p11.2 for both chromosome 14 and 17. Microsatellite analysis showed that the duplicated 17p was of paternal origin, and indicated that the breakpoint involving 17p11.2 is most likely located within the approximately 1-Mb segment from the centromere, and not involving the proximal Smith-Magenis syndrome (SMS) low copy repeat. We compare the clinical features of our patient with those previously reported to further delineate the phenotype of complete trisomy 17p syndrome.     

Distal 8p deletion (8p23.1----8pter): a common deletion?

The clinical manifestations and cytogenetic details of five patients with a de novo deletion of the short arm of chromosome 8, del(8)(p23), are described. Of the four surviving children all had mild mental retardation and subtle facial anomalies; three of the five had cardiac abnormalities. The clinical features seen in these patients are compared with those of three previous single case reports with del(8)(p23), and with patients described as having the '8p-' syndrome associated with del(8)(p21). The findings in these patients suggest that major congenital anomalies, especially congenital heart defects, are frequent even in small distal 8p deletions, but facial dysmorphism may be subtle and mental retardation less severe than in those with deletions associated with more proximal breakpoints. The five patients were detected within a four year period, suggesting that this deletion syndrome is relatively frequent. The possible mechanisms for the formation of terminal deletions are discussed.     

Mother to son amplification of a small subtelomeric deletion: a new mechanism of familial recurrence in microdeletion syndromes

A 2.8-Mb 4p16.3 terminal deletion, with proximal breakpoint at locus D4S182, was diagnosed by FISH in a 16-year-old boy who presented with a typical Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome (WHS) phenotype. The deletion, which was maternally derived, was isolated, and a balanced translocation was ruled out in both parents by FISH with probe 33c6 (locus D4S43) falling within the patient's deletion interval, at a distance of about 2.3 Mb from the telomere. His older brother, who died from pneumonia at the age of 18 years, also presented with clinical signs consistent with WHS, including typical facial appearance and major malformations, but the genetic test was not performed. A smaller 4p deletion, spanning the 1.5 Mb region from locus D4S96 to the telomere was detected in the healthy mother. When critically analyzed, after the FISH results, she was noted to present with partial WHS facial "gestalt," borderline mental delay, a few episodes of seizures as a child, normal weight and head circumference, and height at the lower limit of normal range. This report highlights a previously undescribed mechanism of familial recurrence of a microdeletion syndrome. Potential meiotic amplification is to be considered for different subtelomeric deletions that are currently interpreted as population polymorphisms. At the same time, the present report adds new insights to mapping some peculiar WHS clinical signs, such as seizures and severe growth delay.     

A 137‐kb deletion within the Potocki–Shaffer syndrome interval on chromosome 11p11.2 associated with developmental delay and hypotonia

Potocki–Shaffer syndrome (PSS) is a rare disorder caused by haploinsufficiency of genes located on the proximal short arm of chromosome 11 (11p11.2p12). Classic features include biparietal foramina, multiple exostoses, profound hypotonia, dysmorphic features, and developmental delay/intellectual disability. Fewer than 40 individuals with PSS have been reported, with variable clinical presentations due in part to disparity in deletion sizes. We report on a boy who presented for initial evaluation at age 13 months because of a history of developmental delay, hypotonia, subtle dysmorphic features, and neurobehavioral abnormalities. SNP microarray analysis identified a 137 kb deletion at 11p11.2, which maps within the classically defined PSS interval. This deletion results in haploinsufficiency for all or portions of six OMIM genes: SLC35C1, CRY2, MAPK8IP1, PEX16, GYLTL1B, and PHF21A. Recently, translocations interrupting PHF21A have been associated with intellectual disability and craniofacial anomalies similar to those seen in PSS. The identification of this small deletion in a child with developmental delay and hypotonia provides further evidence for the genetic basis of developmental disability and identifies a critical region sufficient to cause hypotonia in this syndrome. Additionally, this case illustrates the utility of high resolution genomic approaches in correlating clinical phenotypes with specific genes in contiguous gene deletion syndromes. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Atypical deletion of 22q11.2: Detection using the FISH TBX1 probe and molecular characterization with high-density SNP arrays

Despite the heterogeneous clinical presentations, the majority of patients with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2 DS) have either a common recurrent 3 Mb deletion or a less common, 1.5 Mb nested deletion, with breakpoint sites in flanking low-copy repeats (LCR) sequences. Only a small number of atypical deletions have been reported and precisely defined. Haploinsufficiency of the TBX1 gene was determined to be the likely cause of 22q11.2 DS. The diagnostic procedure usually used is FISH using commercially probes (N25 or TUPLE1). However, this test does not contain TBX1, and fails to detect deletions that are either proximal or distal to the FISH probes. Here, we report on two patients with clinical features suggestive of 22q11.2 DS, a male infant with facial dysmorphia, pulmonary atresia, ventricular septal defect, neonatal hypocalcemia, and his affected mother, with facial dysmorphia, learning disabilities, and hypernasal speech. They were tested negative for 22q11.2 DS using N25 or TUPLE1 probes, but were shown deleted for a probe containing TBX1. Delineation of the deletion was performed using high-density SNP arrays (Illumina, 370K). This atypical deletion was spanning 1.89 Mb. The distal breakpoint resided in LCR-D, sharing the same distal breakpoint with the 3 Mb common deletion. The proximal breakpoint was located 105 kb telomeric to TUPLE1, representing a new breakpoint variant that does not correspond to known LCRs of 22q11.2. We conclude that FISH with the TBX1 probe is an accurate diagnostic tool for 22q11.2 DS, with a higher sensitivity than FISH using standard probes, detecting all but the rarest deletions, greatly reducing the false negative rate.     

Periventricular heterotopia in a boy with interstitial deletion of chromosome 4p

We report on a 4-year-old boy with a proximal interstitial deletion in the short arm of chromosome 4p with the karyotype 46,XY,del(4)(p14p15.32),inv(9)(p13q13). For a precise delineation of the deleted region, an array-based comparative genomic hybridization (a-CGH) analysis was performed. The proband's phenotype and cytogenetic findings are compared with previously reported cases with proximal 4p deletion syndrome. The syndrome is associated with normal growth, varying degrees of mental retardation, characteristic facial appearance and minor dysmorphic features. Additionally, our patient developed a seizure disorder due to abnormal neuronal migration, i.e., periventricular heterotopia.