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New tetranucleotide STRP markers for detecting the 22q11.2 deletion.

The 22q11.2 deletion syndrome is the most common microdeletion syndrome mainly characterized by hemizygous deletions and congenital heart defect (CHD). By using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), genotyping of short tandem repeat polymorphic (STRP) markers is a common and powerful means of detecting microdeletion. We have developed five new tetranucleotide repeat markers, 22D_4_1, 22D_4_2, 22D_4_3, 22D_4_4 and D22S873 in the proximal region of 22q11.2 deletion. To ascertain whether these markers could be used reliably in genotyping, we performed genotyping analysis on 200 unrelated individuals from a Chinese Han population and 67 CHD patients and their unaffected parents. Population data showed that the five markers met Hardy-Weinberg expectations and were highly polymorphic. By using the five markers, six of 67 CHD patients were determined to have a deletion within chromosome 22q11.2. Compared with dinucleotide markers, tetranucleotide markers produce weaker stutter bands and have no artificial multiband patterns. PCR amplification results from the five new tetranucleotide STRP markers were unambiguous and easier to interpret in genotyping. This study demonstrated that the five markers were efficient and reliable suggesting that genotyping using tetranucleotide STRP markers is an alterative approach to detect the deletion on chromosome 22q11.2 in clinical diagnosis and for genetic consultation.

Adolescent↗

Scanning of Y-chromosome azoospermia factors loci using real-time polymerase chain reaction and melting curve analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a novel method to scan AZF loci looking for microdeletions. DESIGN: Molecular method development. SETTING: Men undergoing reproductive techniques in a private fertility unit. Molecular methods were performed in a private center for biomedical research. PATIENT(S): : Fifty-eight men divided in two groups depending on seminal analyses. A group of 19 women were also included as positive controls (absence of amplification). INTERVENTION(S): Peripheral blood extraction and DNA purification. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Our method is based on real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and melting curve analysis. We performed the screening of 16 selected sequence tagged sites (STS) within AZF loci, and we also calculated the mean, range, and standard deviation for melting temperature patterns and the crossing points values for each STS tested. RESULT(S): We detected one azoospermic patient with several STS deleted within the AZFc region. No deletions were detected in a group of 13 healthy men, and no amplification for any of the STS tested were observed in the positive control group (19 healthy women). CONCLUSION(S): We have developed a novel method based on real-time PCR and melting curve analysis to scan AZF loci looking for microdeletions This method is fast and reliable and permits the scanning of DNA from one patient per hour, minimizing the risk of cross contamination, and false-positive and false-negative results.

Adult↗

Screening for deletions of the Y chromosome involving the DAZ (Deleted in AZoospermia) gene in azoospermia and severe oligozoospermia.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the occurrence and prevalence of microdeletions of the Y chromosome involving the DAZ (Deleted in AZoospermia) gene in patients with azoospermia or severe oligozoospermia. DESIGN: Controlled clinical study. SETTING: University infertility clinic. PATIENT(S): Infertile men (n = 168) with nonobstructive, idiopathic azoospermia or severe oligozoospermia and normal LH. The control group consisted of proven fathers (n = 86). INTERVENTION(S): None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Semen analysis; polymerase chain reaction amplification of the loci sY84, sY143, sY254, and sY255; serum FSH, LH, and T; testicular volume. RESULT(S): Deletions involving the sY254 and sY255 DAZ loci were found in three azoospermic patients and two men with sperm concentration < 1 x 10(6)/mL. Serum FSH was elevated in four patients and was normal in one. All five patients had decreased testicular volumes compared with controls. No deletions involving the sY84 and sY143 loci were found. The four loci were amplified normally in the control group. CONCLUSION(S): The estimated frequency of deletions involving the DAZ locus is 3% in azoospermic-severely oligozoospermic men consulting an infertility clinic. Polymerase chain reaction amplification of the DAZ locus is useful for the diagnosis of microdeletions of the Y chromosome. Deletions involving more proximal regions of the Y chromosome seem to be rare.

Adult↗

Mosaic AZF deletions and susceptibility to testicular tumors.

We tested for azoospermia factor (AZF) deletions 17 loci corresponding to AZF subintervals a-d in 17 cases of testicular tumors occurring in Finns. While DNA samples from 48 CEPH and 32 Finnish males showed no deletions, patients with testicular cancer displayed AZF deletion mosaicisms in various non-tumor tissues (13 cases) and specific deletion haplotypes in tumor tissues (10 cases). Two of the cases with AZF deletions were testicular non-Hodgkin lymphomas indicating that Y-microdeletions appear also in malignancies other than seminoma and non-seminoma tumors. In good agreement with this assumption, we detected one AZF deletion in normal cells from 1 of 5 HNPCC cases, heterozygous for an MLH1 mutation. We propose that AZF deletions occur in early embryogenesis due to mutations of TSPY, mismatch repair (MMR), or X-specific genes. Since fathers of testicular, tumor cases did not exhibit AZF deletions, we assumed they were not carriers of the mutation inducing AZF deletion-mosaicisms. Therefore, tumor cases should have received the MMR gene or X mutations via the maternal lineage, or for the case of TSPY and MMR genes via a sperm carrying a mutation occurred in the paternal germ-cell line. We consider AZF microdeletions in non-tumor cells to be part of a broader pattern of chromosome instability producing susceptibility to testicular tumors. Clonal transformation and expansion of one of these tumor-susceptible cell lineages give rise to testicular tumors showing genome anomalies characteristic of testicular cancers (i12p, LOH and genetic imbalance for various autosomal regions, Y- and autosomal MSI, specific AZF deletion haplotypes).

Base Pair Mismatch↗

Response to varicocelectomy in oligospermic men with and without defined genetic infertility.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the clinical characteristics of infertile men who have varicocele with and without a genetic anomaly, and report the results of varicocelectomy in these two cohorts of men. METHODS: Study subjects included 33 men who underwent genetic counseling and testing for a diagnosis of oligospermia with varicocele. Seven men were diagnosed with coexisting genetic infertility (genetic [+]; abnormal karyotype in 4, Y chromosome microdeletion in 3), and 26 men with varicocele and no genetic abnormality (genetic [-]). Five patients (Y chromosome microdeletions in 2, abnormal karyotype in 3) in the genetic (+) group and 14 patients in the genetic (-) group underwent microsurgical subinguinal varicocelectomy. Semen and hormonal parameters, physical examination findings, as well as the response to varicocele repair were compared between the two groups. Varicocele response was defined as a 50% increase in total motile sperm count in the ejaculate. RESULTS: Mean preoperative seminal and hormonal parameters were not statistically significantly different between the two groups. Significant differences were observed in the volume of the right and left testicles between the two groups (left: P = 0.007; right: P = 0.04). Although 7 of 13 evaluable patients (54%) in the genetic (-) group had a seminal response to varicocelectomy, none of 5 patients in the genetic (+) group showed improvement in semen quality. CONCLUSIONS: From this early experience, men with varicocele and genetic lesions appear to have a poorer response to varicocele repair than men without coexisting genetic lesions. These data may have implications for counseling male factor infertility patients contemplating varicocele treatment.

Adult↗

Clinical characteristics of schizophrenia associated with velo-cardio-facial syndrome.

Velo-cardio-facial syndrome (VCFS) is caused by a microdeletion in the long arm of chromosome 22 and is associated with an increased frequency of schizophrenia and bipolar mood disorder. The purpose of this study was to investigate the genetic, physical, developmental and psychiatric features of schizophrenic patients with VCFS microdeletion. It describes the clinical findings in four schizophrenic inpatients with the characteristic chromosomal deletion. The four patients displayed delayed motor development, language deficits, learning disabilities, mental retardation, early age of onset, chronic and disabling course of illness and poor response to classical neuroleptic drugs and electroconvulsive therapy. Two patients benefited from treatment with clozapine. We suggest that schizophrenic patients with a history of delayed motor development, early onset of the disorder, history of learning disability, mental retardation, congenital cardiac anomalies and/or hypernasal speech should be screened for the velo-cardio-facial syndrome deletion. The implications of this study for psychiatric phenotype, nosology, disease mechanism, and possible new treatments in the future are discussed.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

Y chromosome assessment and its implications for the development of ICSI children.

The aetiology of compromised spermatogenesis is often genetic in nature. There are only a few reports of father/son cohorts that have been evaluated to assess heritability of mutations associated with male factor infertility and the psychological well-being of the children. In the present study, multiple tissues were sampled from consenting male patients and their sons derived from intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and underwent chromosomal and genetic analyses. Paediatric and psychological examinations were also conducted. In 87 men and 47 boys, 22 sequence tagged sites (STS) were analysed by multiplex PCR and deletion breakpoints were defined with additional loci. In one patient, the breakpoints map to the highly unstable palindrome-rich region within AZFb and proximal AZFc was investigated. A total of 86 blood, 26 semen, and 73 cheek cells samples were collected from adults, and 36 blood samples and 44 cheek cell specimens were obtained from the boys. Though all of the fathers had normal karyotypes, the incidence of chromosomal abnormalities in the somatic cells of male progeny was 8.3% (3/36). The incidence of germ line aneuploidy in these men was 0.5-2.8%. A CF mutation (Delta508) was detected in one of 87 men (1.2%) and microdeletions in Yq AZF were detected in 3.4% of 87 adults and in 2.1% of their sons (n = 47). In conclusion, screening for Y chromosome microdeletions provides crucial information in the counselling of couples seeking infertility treatment. Moreover, DNA extraction and Y deletion assessments of cheek cells provide a non-invasive approach. Inheritance of Yq deletions appears not to affect the psychological and physical development of children derived from ICSI.

Adult↗

New trends in chromosomal investigation in children with cardiovascular malformations.

We investigated a group of 376 children, seen over a period of 7 years with different types of congenital cardiovascular defects, to assess the presence of chromosomal aberrations. The diagnostic approach, achieved in 3 consecutive steps, revealed conventional chromosomal aberrations in 30 of the patients (8%) excluding trisomies 13, 18, 21. Fluorescence in situ hybridisation for microdeletions showed 51 microdeletions (15%), with 43 patients having deletions of 22q11.2, 7 patients with deletion of 7q11.23, and 1 patient with deletion of 4p16.3. In 23 patients with additional clinical abnormalities, we carried out a subtelomeric screening. This revealed, in two cases (9%), different subtelomeric aberrations, namely deletions of 1p and of 1q. Thus, subtelomeric screening proved to be a very valuable as a new diagnostic approach. Our approach to genetic investigation in three phases makes it possible to detect a high rate of pathologic karyotypes in patients with congenital cardiovascular malformations, thus guaranteeing more effective genetic counselling of the families, and a more precise prognosis for the patient.

Child↗

Association of the low-activity COMT 158Met allele with ADHD and OCD in subjects with velocardiofacial syndrome.

Velocardiofacial syndrome (VCFS) is caused by a microdeletion in chromosome 22 and is a risk factor for the development of schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders. The catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), residing in the 22q11.2 microdeletion region, is a major candidate gene for genetic susceptibility to neuropsychiatric disorders in VCFS. Individuals with VCFS carrying the low-activity allele (COMTL) are expected to have the lowest possible COMT activity since they have only a single copy of the gene. We explored the possibility that COMTL is associated with psychiatric disorders commonly found in VCFS. Fifty-five unrelated individuals with VCFS underwent psychiatric evaluation and were genotyped for the COMT 158Val/Met polymorphism coding for COMT high/low-activity alleles. The COMTL allele was significantly more prevalent in VCFS subjects with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (73.9% vs. 33.3%, OR 5.67, chi2=7.76, p=0.005) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) (78.6% vs. 33.3%, OR 7.33, chi2=7.24, p=0.007) than in the control group (VCFS subjects without OCD, ADHD and schizophrenia/schizoaffective (SZ/SZaff) disorder). The results of this study suggest that greatly reduced COMT activity, as expected in VCFS COMTL individuals may be a risk factor for psychiatric sequelae in this population. Future longitudinal studies focusing on additional COMT polymorphic sites and other candidate genes from the deleted region will elucidate the molecular pathways leading to schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders in VCFS.

Adolescent↗

Kenny-Caffey syndrome: an Arab variant?

We describe 2 unrelated Bedouin girls who met the criteria for the diagnosis of Kenny-Caffey syndrome. The girls had some unusual features--microcephaly and psychomotor retardation--that distinguish the Kenny-Caffey syndrome profile in Arab children from the classical Kenny-Caffey syndrome phenotype characterized by macrocephaly and normal intelligence. The 2 girls did not harbor the 22q11 microdeletion (the hallmark of the DiGeorge cluster of diseases) that we previously reported in another Bedouin family with the Kenny-Caffey syndrome (Sabry et al. J Med Genet 1998: 35(1): 31-36). This indicates considerable genetic heterogeneity for this syndrome. We also review previously reported 44 Arab/Bedouin patients with the same profile of hypoparathyroidism, short stature, seizures, mental retardation and microcephaly. Our results suggest that these patients represent an Arab variant of Kenny-Caffey syndrome with characteristic microcephaly and psychomotor retardation. We suggest that all patients with Kenny-Caffey syndrome should be investigated for the 22q11 microdeletion. Other possible genetic causes for the Kenny-Caffey syndrome or its Arab variant include chromosome 10p abnormalities.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

Velo-cardio-facial phenotype and deletion of 22q11.2 in Hungarian children.

Velo-cardio-facial syndrome is a developmental disorder characterized by heart defects, specific facial features, cleft palate and learning disability. Most patients have a 3-Mb deletion in chromosomal region 22q11.2. This microdeletion has also been found in patients with isolated conotruncal malformations. Although no significant ethnic variability has been reported in the frequency 22q11.2 deletions, some recent studies question the high frequency of this as the underlying cause of velo-cardio-facial syndrome in Anglo-American populations. A screening program was initiated, including a detailed clinical assessment, followed by fluorescence in situ hybridization studies for microdeletion 22q11.2 in 24 children with congenital cardiac malformations referred consecutively to our genetics clinic. We found a high ratio of associated findings including cleft palate and developmental delay in our patient group. The clinical diagnosis of velo-cardio-facial syndrome was established in 8 patients. However, the common deletion was detected in only two children. We conclude that, although the 'velo-cardio-facial phenotype' appears to be common in Hungarian children with congenital cardiac malformations, many patients may have different etiologies other than del(22)(q11.2).

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

Y chromosome haplogroups: a correlation with testicular dysgenesis syndrome?

Testicular dysgenesis syndrome encompasses low sperm quality, hypospadias, cryptorchidism and testicular cancer. Epidemiological studies and genetic data from familial cases suggest that testicular dysgenesis syndrome has a common etiology. The Y chromosome is known to encode genes that are involved in germ cell development or maintenance. We have therefore investigated if different classes of Y chromosomes in the general population (Y chromosome haplogroups) are associated with aspects of the testicular dysgenesis syndrome. We defined the Y chromosome haplogroups in individuals from different European counties who presented with either (i) oligo- or azoospermia associated with a Y chromosome microdeletion, (ii) unexplained reduced sperm counts (<20 x 10(6)/ml) or (iii) testicular cancer. We failed to find Y chromosome haplotype associations with either microdeletion formation or testicular cancer. However, in a study of the Danish population, we found that a specific Y chromosome haplogroup (hg26) is significantly overrepresented in men with unexplained reduced sperm counts compared with a Danish control population. The factors encoded by genes on this class of Y chromosome may be particularly susceptible to environmental influences that cause testicular dysgenesis syndrome. Our current data highlight the need for further analyses of clinically well-defined patient groups from a wide range of ethnic and geographic origins.

Chromosome Deletion↗

Polymorphic DAZ gene family in polymorphic structure of AZFc locus: Artwork or functional for human spermatogenesis?

Human spermatogenesis is regulated by a network of genes located on autosomes and on sex chromosomes, but especially on the Y chromosome. Most results concerning the germ cell function of the Y genes were obtained by genomic breakpoint mapping studies of the Y chromosome of infertile patients. Although this approach has the benefit of focussing on those Y regions that contain most likely the Y genes of functional importance, its major drawback is the fact that fertile control samples were often missing. In fertile men, molecular and cytogenetic analyses of the Y chromosome has revealed highly polymorphic chromatin domains especially in the distal euchromatic part (Yq11.23) and in the heterochromatic part (Yq12) of the long arm. In sterile patients cytogenetic analyses mapped microscopically visible Y deletions and rearrangements in the same polymorphic Y regions. The presence of a Y chromosomal spermatogenesis locus was postulated to be located in Yq11.23 and designated as AZoospermia Factor (ZF). More recently, molecular deletion mapping in Yq11 has revealed a series of microdeletions that could be mapped to one of three different AZF loci: AZFa in proximal Yq11 (Yq11.21), AZFb and AZFc in two non-overlapping Y-regions in distal Yq11 (Yq11.23). This view was supported by the observation that AZFa and AZFb microdeletions were associated with a specific pathology in the patients' testis tissue. Only AZFc deletions were associated with a variable testicular pathology and in rare cases AZFc deletions were even found inherited from father to son. However, AZFc deletions were found with a frequency of 10-20% only in infertile men and most of them were proved to be "de novo", i.e. the AZFc deletion was restricted to the patient's Y chromosome. Based mainly on positional cloning experiments of testis cDNA clones and on the Y chromosomal sequence now published in GenBank, a first blueprint for the putative gene content of the AZFc locus can now be given and the gene location compared to the polymorphic DNA domains. This artwork of repetitive sequence blocks called AZFc amplicons raised the question whether the AZFc chromatin is still part of the heterochromatic domain of the Y long arm well known for its polymorphic extensions or is decondensed and part of the Yq11.23 euchromatin? We discuss also the polymorphic DAZ gene family and disclose putative origins of its molecular heterogeneity in fertile and infertile men recently identified by the analyses of Single Nucleotide Variants (SNVs) in this AZFc gene locus.

Chromosomes, Human, 21-22 and Y↗

A common molecular basis for three inherited kidney stone diseases.

Kidney stones (nephrolithiasis), which affect 12% of males and 5% of females in the western world, are familial in 45% of patients and are most commonly associated with hypercalciuria. Three disorders of hypercalciuric nephrolithiasis (Dent's disease, X-linked recessive nephrolithiasis (XRN), and X-linked recessive hypophosphataemic rickets (XLRH)) have been mapped to Xp11.22 (refs 5-7). A microdeletion in one Dent's disease kindred allowed the identification of a candidate gene, CLCN5 (refs 8,9) which encodes a putative renal chloride channel. Here we report the investigation of 11 kindreds with these renal tubular disorders for CLCN5 abnormalities; this identified three nonsense, four missense and two donor splice site mutations, together with one intragenic deletion and one microdeletion encompassing the entire gene. Heterologous expression of wild-type CLCN5 in Xenopus oocytes yielded outwardly rectifying chloride currents, which were either abolished or markedly reduced by the mutations. The common aetiology for Dent's disease, XRN and XLRH indicates that CLCN5 may be involved in other renal tubular disorders associated with kidney stones.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

The imprinting box of the Prader-Willi/Angelman syndrome domain.

A subset of mammalian genes is monoallelically expressed in a parent-of-origin manner. These genes are subject to an imprinting process that epigenetically marks alleles according to their parental origin during gametogenesis. Imprinted genes can be organized in clusters as exemplified by the 2-Mb domain on human chromosome 15q11-q13 and its mouse orthologue on chromosome 7c (ref. 1). Loss of this 2-Mb domain on the paternal or maternal allele results in two neurogenetic disorders, Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) or Angelman syndrome (AS), respectively. Microdeletions on the paternal allele share a 4.3-kb short region of overlap (SRO), which includes the SNRPN promoter/exon1, cause PWS and silence paternally expressed genes. Microdeletions on the maternal allele share a 0.88-kb SRO located 35 kb upstream to the SNRPN promoter, cause AS and alleviate repression of genes on the maternal allele. Individuals carrying both AS and PWS deletions on the paternal allele show a PWS phenotype and genotype. These observations suggest that cis elements within the AS-SRO and PWS-SRO constitute an imprinting box that regulates the entire domain on both chromosomes. Here we show that a minitransgene composed of a 200-bp Snrpn promoter/exon1 and a 1-kb sequence located approximately 35 kb upstream to the SNRPN promoter confer imprinting as judged by differential methylation, parent-of-origin-specific transcription and asynchronous replication.

Alleles↗

Homologous recombination of a flanking repeat gene cluster is a mechanism for a common contiguous gene deletion syndrome.

Smith-Magenis syndrome (SMS), caused by del(17)p11.2, represents one of the most frequently observed human microdeletion syndromes. We have identified three copies of a low-copy-number repeat (SMS-REPs) located within and flanking the SMS common deletion region and show that SMS-REP represents a repeated gene cluster. We have isolated a corresponding cDNA clone that identifies a novel junction fragment from 29 unrelated SMS patients and a different-sized junction fragment from a patient with dup(17)p11.2. Our results suggest that homologous recombination of a flanking repeat gene cluster is a mechanism for this common microdeletion syndrome.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

Mutations in a new member of the chromodomain gene family cause CHARGE syndrome.

CHARGE syndrome is a common cause of congenital anomalies affecting several tissues in a nonrandom fashion. We report a 2.3-Mb de novo overlapping microdeletion on chromosome 8q12 identified by array comparative genomic hybridization in two individuals with CHARGE syndrome. Sequence analysis of genes located in this region detected mutations in the gene CHD7 in 10 of 17 individuals with CHARGE syndrome without microdeletions, accounting for the disease in most affected individuals.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

Discovery of previously unidentified genomic disorders from the duplication architecture of the human genome.

Genomic disorders are characterized by the presence of flanking segmental duplications that predispose these regions to recurrent rearrangement. Based on the duplication architecture of the genome, we investigated 130 regions that we hypothesized as candidates for previously undescribed genomic disorders. We tested 290 individuals with mental retardation by BAC array comparative genomic hybridization and identified 16 pathogenic rearrangements, including de novo microdeletions of 17q21.31 found in four individuals. Using oligonucleotide arrays, we refined the breakpoints of this microdeletion, defining a 478-kb critical region containing six genes that were deleted in all four individuals. We mapped the breakpoints of this deletion and of four other pathogenic rearrangements in 1q21.1, 15q13, 15q24 and 17q12 to flanking segmental duplications, suggesting that these are also sites of recurrent rearrangement. In common with the 17q21.31 deletion, these breakpoint regions are sites of copy number polymorphism in controls, indicating that these may be inherently unstable genomic regions.

Chromosome Breakage↗