Robinow syndrome is characterized by a triad of craniofacial dysmorphisms, disproportionate-limb short stature, and genital hypoplasia. A significant degree of phenotypic variability seems to correlate with different genes/loci. Disturbances of the noncanonical WNT-pathway have been identified as the main cause of the syndrome. Biallelic variants in ROR2 cause an autosomal recessive form of the syndrome with distinctive skeletal findings. Twenty-two patients with a clinical diagnosis of autosomal recessive Robinow syndrome were screened for variants in ROR2 using multiple molecular approaches. We identified 25 putatively pathogenic ROR2 variants, 16 novel, including single nucleotide variants and exonic deletions.Detailed phenotypic analyses revealed that all subjects presented with a prominent forehead, hypertelorism, short nose, abnormality of the nasal tip, brachydactyly, mesomelic limb shortening, short stature, and genital hypoplasia in male patients. A total of 19 clinical features were present in more than 75% of the subjects, thus pointing to an overall uniformity of the phenotype. Disease-causing variants in ROR2, contribute to a clinically recognizable autosomal recessive trait phenotype with multiple skeletal defects. A comprehensive quantitative clinical evaluation of this cohort delineated the phenotypic spectrum of ROR2-related Robinow syndrome. The identification of exonic deletion variant alleles further supports the contention of a loss-of-function mechanism in the etiology of the syndrome.
Objective: This study aimed to analyze the indications and outcomes of prenatal invasive diagnostic procedures performed in a single tertiary center.
Materials and Methods: The invasive procedure indications and karyotype results of 1666 pregnant women who underwent prenatal invasive procedures between March 2016 and November 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. The indications and results of prenatal invasive diagnostic procedures were recorded.
Results: Amniocentesis (AS) was performed to 1060 (63.6%) patients, corion villus sampling (CVS) to 299 (17.9%), and cordocentesis (CS) to 307 (18.4%) patients. Among the prenatal invasive procedure indications, the most frequent indication was abnormal ultrasound (US) findings, with a rate of 48.3% (n= 805). A normal karyotype was detected in 85% (n= 1416) of the cases, and chromosomal abnormality was detected in 12.2% (n= 204) of the cases. Abnormal karyotype results were found in 111 (10.5%) of 1060 patients who underwent AS, 87 (29.1%) of 299 patients who underwent CVS, and 52 (16.9%) of 307 patients who underwent CS. Among the numerical chromosomal abnormalities, trisomy 21 was the most common abnormality with a rate of 46% (94/204), while inversions were the most common abnormality of structural chromosomal abnormalities at 8.8% (18/204).
Conclusion: The results of the current study show that AS is the most common prenatal diagnostic invasive procedure. We obtained the highest fetal chromosomal anomaly rate in patients who experienced CVS. Abnormal US findings were the most common prenatal invasive diagnostic procedure indication in our study. Choosing the most appropriate invasive procedure is related to the obstetricians' experience, medical history of the patient, the gestational week at admission, maternal prenatal serum screening test results, and abnormal US findings.
De novo variants in DDX3X account for 1-3% of unexplained intellectual disability (ID), one of the most common causes of ID, in females. Forty-seven patients (44 females, 3 males) have been described. We identified 29 additional individuals carrying 27 unique DDX3X variants in the setting of complex clinical presentations including developmental delay or ID. In addition to previously reported manifestations, rare or novel phenotypes were identified including respiratory problems, congenital heart disease, skeletal muscle mitochondrial DNA depletion, and late-onset neurologic decline. Our findings expand the spectrum of DNA variants and phenotypes associated with DDX3X disorders.
Laterality defects are defined by the perturbed left–right arrangement of organs in the body, occurring in a syndromal or isolated fashion. In humans, primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a frequent underlying condition of defective left–right patterning, where ciliary motility defects also result in reduced airway clearance, frequent respiratory infections, and infertility. Non-motile cilia dysfunction and dysfunction of non-ciliary genes can also result in disturbances of the left–right body axis. Despite long-lasting genetic research, identification of gene mutations responsible for left–right patterning has remained surprisingly low. Here, we used whole-exome sequencing with Copy Number Variation (CNV) analysis to delineate the underlying molecular cause in 35 mainly consanguineous families with laterality defects. We identified causative gene variants in 14 families with a majority of mutations detected in genes previously associated with PCD, including two small homozygous CNVs. None of the patients were previously clinically diagnosed with PCD, underlining the importance of genetic diagnostics for PCD diagnosis and adequate clinical management. Identified variants in non-PCD-associated genes included variants in PKD1L1 and PIFO, suggesting that dysfunction of these genes results in laterality defects in humans. Furthermore, we detected candidate variants in GJA1 and ACVR2B possibly associated with situs inversus. The low mutation detection rate of this study, in line with other previously published studies, points toward the possibility of non-coding genetic variants, putative genetic mosaicism, epigenetic, or environmental effects promoting laterality defects.
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