Rie Kawamura

A new Ehlers-Danlos syndrome with craniofacial characteristics, multiple congenital contractures, progressive joint and skin laxity, and multisystem fragility-related manifestations.

We previously described two unrelated patients showing characteristic facial and skeletal features, overlapping with the kyphoscoliosis type Ehlers–Danlos syndrome (EDS) but without lysyl hydroxylase deficiency [Kosho et al. (2005) Am J Med Genet Part A 138A:282–287]. After observations of them over time and encounter with four additional unrelated patients, we have concluded that they represent a new clinically recognizable type of EDS with distinct craniofacial characteristics, multiple congenital contractures, progressive joint and skin laxity, and multisystem fragility‐related manifestations. The patients exhibited strikingly similar features according to their age: craniofacial, large fontanelle, hypertelorism, short and downslanting palpebral fissures, blue sclerae, short nose with hypoplastic columella, low‐set and rotated ears, high palate, long philtrum, thin vermilion of the upper lip, small mouth, and micro‐retrognathia in infancy; slender and asymmetric face with protruding jaw from adolescence; skeletal, congenital contractures of fingers, wrists, and hips, and talipes equinovarus with anomalous insertions of flexor muscles; progressive joint laxity with recurrent dislocations; slender and/or cylindrical fingers and progressive talipes valgus and cavum or planus, with diaphyseal narrowing of phalanges, metacarpals, and metatarsals; pectus deformities; scoliosis or kyphoscoliosis with decreased physiological curvatures of thoracic spines and tall vertebrae; cutaneous, progressive hyperextensibility, bruisability, and fragility with atrophic scars; fine palmar creases in childhood to acrogeria‐like prominent wrinkles in adulthood, recurrent subcutaneous infections with fistula formation; cardiovascular, cardiac valve abnormalities, recurrent large subcutaneous hematomas from childhood; gastrointestinal, constipation, diverticula perforation; respiratory, (hemo)pneumothorax; and ophthalmological, strabismus, glaucoma, refractive errors.

Progressive aortic root and pulmonary artery aneurysms in a neonate with Loeys–Dietz syndrome type 1B

Loeys–Dietz Syndrome (LDS) is an autosomal dominant aortic aneurysm syndrome with multisystem involvement, caused by heterozygous mutations of transforming growth factor β receptor type 1 (TGFBR1) or type 2 (TGFBR2) genes. We report on a neonate with the disorder caused by a known TGFBR2 mutation, who developed neonatal‐onset progressive dilation of the aortic valve and aneurysms of the aortic root and main pulmonary artery (PA) associated with a large left‐to‐right shunt via a ventricular septal defect (VSD) and an atrial septal defect. He also had skeletal features (flexion contractures of the fingers, talipes equinovarus, a cleft palate, and joint laxity), mild facial dysmorphisms, and developmental delay. The dilation and aneurysms progressed after PA banding at age 12 days; and the patient received an intracardiac repair of the defects and PA plasty at age 42 days, followed by no further progression of the dilation and the aneurysms. Neonates with generalized hypotonia, a cleft palate, inguinal herniae, musculoskeletal features such as camptodactyly and talipes equinovarus, and a cardiac murmur should be suspected to have LDS, and extensive cardiovascular evaluation and testing of TGFBR1 and TGFBR2 are recommended. LDS patients with cardiac defects that lead to a large left‐to‐right shunt and congestive heart failure such as VSD should be considered for intracardiac repair even in early infancy.

Bilateral perisylvian polymicrogyria, periventricular nodular heterotopia, and left ventricular noncompaction in a girl with 10.5–11.1 Mb terminal deletion of 1p36

Monosomy 1p36 is a common subtelomeric microdeletion syndrome, characterized by craniofacial dysmorphisms, developmental delay, mental retardation, hypotonia, epilepsy, cardiovascular complications, and hearing impairment; deleted regions have been mapped within 10.0 Mb from the telomere in most documented cases. We report on a girl with a 10.5–11.1 Mb terminal deletion of 1p36 shown by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). She had three distinct structural abnormalities: bilateral perisylvian polymicrogyria, periventricular nodular heterotopia, and left ventricular noncompaction. She died in early infancy with intractable epilepsy, progressive congestive heart failure and pulmonary hypertension. To date, this is the first case with monosomy 1p36, complicated by this combination of manifestations; she is also the first who had possibly a simple terminal deletion of 1p36 and died in early infancy. An atypically large deletion in this patient might be the basis for the development of these features and the severe clinical course.

Genital abnormalities in Pallister–Hall syndrome: Report of two patients and review of the literature†

We describe two patients with Pallister–Hall syndrome (PHS) with genital abnormalities: a female with hydrometrocolpos secondary to vaginal atresia and a male with micropenis, hypoplastic scrotum, and bilateral cryptorchidism. Nonsense mutations in GLI3 were identified in both patients. Clinical and molecular findings of 12 previously reported patients who had GLI3 mutations and genital abnormalities were reviewed. Genital features in the male patients included hypospadias, micropenis, and bifid or hypoplastic scrotum, whereas all the females had hydrometrocolpos and/or vaginal atresia. No hotspot for GLI3 mutations has been found. The urogenital and anorectal abnormalities associated with PHS might be related to dysregulation of SHH signaling caused by GLI3 mutations rather than hormonal aberrations. We recommend that clinical investigations of genital abnormalities are considered in patients with PHS, even those without hypopituitarism.

Visualization of the spatial positioning of the SNRPN, UBE3A, and GABRB3 genes in the normal human nucleus by three-color 3D fluorescence in situ hybridization

The three-dimensional (3D) structure of the genome is organized non-randomly and plays a role in genomic function via epigenetic mechanisms in the eukaryotic nucleus. Here, we analyzed the spatial positioning of three target regions; the SNRPN, UBE3A, and GABRB3 genes on human chromosome 15q11.2–q12, a representative cluster of imprinted regions, in the interphase nuclei of B lymphoblastoid cell lines, peripheral blood cells, and skin fibroblasts derived from normal individuals to look for evidence of genomic organization and function. The positions of these genes were simultaneously visualized, and all inter-gene distances were calculated for each homologous chromosome in each nucleus after three-color 3D fluorescence in situ hybridization. None of the target genes were arranged linearly in most cells analyzed, and GABRB3 was positioned closer to SNRPN than UBE3A in a high proportion of cells in all cell types. This was in contrast to the genomic map in which GABRB3 was positioned closer to UBE3A than SNRPN. We compared the distances from SNRPN to UBE3A (SU) and from UBE3A to GABRB3 (UG) between alleles in each nucleus, 50 cells per subject. The results revealed that the gene-to-gene distance of one allele was longer than that of the other and that the SU ratio (longer/shorter SU distance between alleles) was larger than the UG ratio (longer/shorter UG distance between alleles). The UG distance was relatively stable between alleles; in contrast, the SU distance of one allele was obviously longer than the distance indicated by the genome size. The results therefore indicate that SNRPN, UBE3A, and GABRB3 have non-linear and non-random curved spatial positioning in the normal nucleus, with differences in the SU distance between alleles possibly representing epigenetic evidence of nuclear organization and gene expression.

CTCF deletion syndrome: clinical features and epigenetic delineation

Background Heterozygous mutations in CTCF have been reported in patients with distinct clinical features including intellectual disability. However, the precise pathomechanism underlying the phenotype remains to be uncovered, partly because of the diverse function of CTCF. Here we describe extensive clinical and genetic investigation for two patients with a microdeletion encompassing CTCF. Methods We performed genetic examination including comprehensive investigation of X chromosome inactivation and DNA methylation profiling at imprinted loci and genome-wide. Results Two patients showed comparable clinical features to those in a previous report, indicating that haploinsufficiency of CTCF was the major determinant of the microdeletion syndrome. Despite the haploinsufficiency of CTCF, X chromosome inactivation was normal. DNA methylation at imprinted loci was normal, but hypermethylation at CTCF binding sites was demonstrated, of which PRKCZ and FGFR2 were identified as candidate genes. Conclusions This study confirms that haploinsufficiency of CTCF causes distinct clinical features, and that a microdeletion encompassing CTCF could cause a recognisable CTCF deletion syndrome. Perturbed DNA methylation at CTCF binding sites, not at imprinted loci, may underlie the pathomechanism of the syndrome.

Peripartum Iliac Arterial Aneurysm and Rupture in a Patient with Vascular Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Diagnosed by Next-Generation Sequencing

Vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (vEDS), a genetic disorder caused by mutations in procollagen type III gene (COL3A1), may lead to fatal vascular complication during peripartum period because of the arterial fragility. We experienced a case of vEDS with peripartum life-threatening arterial rapture diagnosed by next-generation sequencing (NGS) and successfully treated the vascular complications. A 25-year-old female in pregnancy at 34 weeks had sudden and acute pain in the left lower abdomen. After successful delivery, her computed tomography scan showed a dissecting aneurysm of the left common iliac artery (CIA). Four days after delivery, she presented in hemorrhagic shock induced by arterial rupture in the CIA. Since her clinical presentations inferred vEDS even in the absence of familial history, we performed NGS-based genetic screening for inherited connective tissue disorders including vEDS with informed consent. Even though we started intensive medication, her iliac aneurysm was progressively enlarging within 3 weeks. After an urgent molecular diagnosis for vEDS (a splice-site mutation), cautious endovascular therapy for her CIA aneurysm was successfully performed. This is the first report for pretreatment molecular diagnosis of vEDS using NGS in an emergent situation of severe vascular complications.

Myelodysplastic syndrome in an infant with constitutional pure duplication 1q41-qter

We report on a Japanese female infant as the fourth patient with the constitutional pure duplication 1q41-qter confirmed by chromosomal microarray and as the first who developed myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) among those with the constitutional 1q duplication. Common clinical features of the constitutional pure duplication 1q41-qter include developmental delay, craniofacial characteristics, foot malformation, hypertrichosis, and respiratory insufficiency. The association between MDS and the duplication of the genes in the 1q41-qter region remains unknown.

Clinical courses of children with trisomy 13 receiving intensive neonatal and pediatric treatment

Management of children with trisomy 13 (T13) is controversial because of a paucity of evidence of the natural history, especially focusing on efficacy of treatment. There has been no report regarding natural history of children with T13 receiving intensive neonatal and pediatric treatment without cardiac surgery, although several reports have suggested efficacy of cardiac surgery. To describe the detailed and comprehensive natural history of children with T13 receiving intensive neonatal and pediatric treatment without cardiac surgery, we reviewed clinical information of 24 children with full T13 (15 boys, 9 girls) who were admitted to Nagano Childrens Hospital from 1994 to 2016. Intensive neonatal and pediatric treatment without cardiac surgery was provided through careful discussion with the parents. We detailed accurate frequencies of complications, survival, underlying factors and the final modes of death, and psychomotor development of survivors. Unpublished complications including aortopulmonary window, pulmonary‐ductus‐descending aorta‐trunk, biliary system abnormalities, eosinophilic enteritis, and neuroblastoma were described. Accurate frequencies of congenital heart defects (92%) and laryngomalacia and/or tracheomalacia (42%) were determined. The median survival time was 451 days and the 1‐year survival rate was 54%. The major underlying factor associated with death was congenital heart defects and heart failure (63%) and the major final mode of death was heart failure (50%). Long‐term survivors appeared to show slow but constant psychomotor development. Intensive neonatal and pediatric treatment without cardiac surgery for children with T13 is efficient for survival and psychomotor development, and could be a reasonable choice for parents having fetuses or children with T13.