Two unrelated cases with biallelic CHEK2 variants:a novel condition with constitutional chromosomal instability?

Constitutional heterozygous mutations in CHEK2 gene have been associated with hereditary cancer risk. To date, only a few homozygous CHEK2 mutations have been reported in families with cancer susceptibility. Here, we report two unrelated individuals with a personal and familial cancer history in whom biallelic CHEK2 alterations were identified.

Discordant cfDNA-NIPT result unraveling a trisomy 12 chronic lymphocytic leukemia in a 37 years old pregnant woman.

What's already known about this topic? Discordant NIPT results can rarely unravel maternal malignancies, especially when multiple chromosomal imbalances are reported. Both solid and hematological neoplasms have been described. What does this study add? This is the first case of a discordant NIPT result due to Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia associated with trisomy of the chromosome 12.

Autism spectrum disorder in a patient with a genomic rearrangement that only involves the EPHA5 gene.

About one child in 68 is affected by the autism spectrum disorder (ASD), one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders linked to intellectual disability, especially in males, intellectual disability being diagnosable in about 60-70% of autistic individuals. The biological bases of ASD are not yet fully known, but they are generally considered multifactorial, although many genes and genomic loci have been proposed to be possibly associated with this condition. In this report, we describe the case of a 14-year-old female Italian proband affected by ASD, carrying a novel ~ 270 kb interstitial microduplication, localized at the distal portion of the 4q13.

Clinical and molecular characterization of a boy with intellectual disability, facial dysmorphism, minor digital anomalies and a complex IL1RAPL1 intragenic rearrangement.

X-linked intellectual disability accounts for 10-12% of cases of cognitive impairment in males. Mutations in IL1RAPL1 are an emerging form of apparently non-syndromic X-linked intellectual disability. We report a 8-year-old intellectually disabled boy with speech delay, and unusual facial and digital anomalies who showed a novel and complex IL1RAPL1 rearrangement.

Disorders of sex development: a genetic study of patients in a multidisciplinary clinic.

Sex development is a process under genetic control directing both the bi-potential gonads to become either a testis or an ovary, and the consequent differentiation of internal ducts and external genitalia. This complex series of events can be altered by a large number of genetic and non-genetic factors. Disorders of sex development (DSD) are all the medical conditions characterized by an atypical chromosomal, gonadal, or phenotypical sex.

An additional patient with 3q27.3 microdeletion syndrome.

The 3q27.3 microdeletion syndrome has been recently delineated in 7 subjects from 5 families sharing a 1.4 Mb smallest region of overlap.

Prenatal diagnosis and post-mortem examination in a fetus with thrombocytopenia-absent radius (TAR) syndrome due to compound heterozygosity for a 1q21.1 microdeletion and a RBM8A hypomorphic allele: a case report.

Background: Thrombocytopenia-absent radius syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by megakaryocytic thrombocytopenia and longitudinal limb deficiencies mostly affecting the radial ray. Most patients are compound heterozygotes for a 200 kb interstitial microdeletion in 1q21.1 and a hypomorphic allele in RBM8A, mapping in the deleted segment.

Jejunal atresia and anterior chamber anomalies: Further delineation of the Strømme syndrome.

Strømme syndrome is a rare multiple congenital malformation syndrome consisting in apple peel intestinal atresia, ocular anomalies, microcephaly and developmental delay. To date, this condition was described in a couple of sibs and 7 additional sporadic patients. We report on a 11-month-old female, who requested surgical correction for jejunal atresia shortly after birth and also presented with megalocornea and persistence of the pupillary membrane.

A novel heterozygous SOX2 mutation causing anophthalmia/microphthalmia with genital anomalies.

Anophthalmia/microphthalmia is a rare developmental craniofacial defect, which recognizes a wide range of causes, including chromosomal abnormalities, single-gene mutations as well as environmental factors. Heterozygous mutations in the SOX2 gene are the most common monogenic form of anophthalmia/microphthalmia, as they are reported in up to 10-15% cases. Here, we describe a sporadic patient showing bilateral anophthalmia/microphthalmia and micropenis caused by a novel mutation (c.

Syndromic true hermaphroditism due to an R-spondin1 (RSPO1) homozygous mutation.

XX true hermaphroditism, also know as ovotesticular disorder of sexual development (DSD), is a disorder of gonadal development characterized by the presence of both ovarian and testicular tissue in a 46,XX individual. The genetic basis for XX true hermaphroditism and sex reversal syndromes unrelated to SRY translocation is still mostly unclear. We report mutational analysis of the RSPO1 gene in a 46,XX woman with true hermaphroditism, palmoplantar keratoderma, congenital bilateral corneal opacities, onychodystrophy, and hearing impairment.

A deletion 3' to the PAX6 gene in familial aniridia cases.

Purpose: PAX6 mutations cause aniridia as well as other various congenital eye abnormalities. Aniridia can be due to both point mutations and chromosomal deletions/rearrangements. Therefore, a complete search for PAX6 gene alterations in aniridia subjects requires a technically complex approach involving the comprehension of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis.