title: A new genomic mechanism leading to cri-du-chat syndrome.
abstract: Using standard banding techniques, a within-arm intrachromosomal insertion can be mistakenly interpreted as a paracentric inversion. The need to correctly distinguish between these two types of chromosome rearrangements is emphasized by their different reproductive risks. For carriers of an intrachromosomal insertion, the empiric risk of having a liveborn child with a recombinant chromosome leading to a genetic imbalance is at least 15%, whereas the risk for a carrier of a paracentric inversion having a liveborn child with a recombinant chromosome leading to a genetic imbalance is thought to be practically negligible. We report a unique observation in which a paracentric inversion in the short arm of chromosome 5, 46,XX,inv(5)(p13.3p15.3), was identified in a women who had a daughter with an apparently terminal deletion in the distal short arm of chromosome 5, 46,XX,del(5)(p14.3), and the clinical diagnosis of cri-du-chat syndrome. We further characterized the rearrangement, and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and microsatellite analyses confirmed the paracentric inversion in the mother and showed the deletion in the daughter was maternal in origin. Therefore, this represents a case in which a confirmed paracentric inversion likely resulted in a viable terminal deletion. We propose a mechanism involving dicentric chromosome formation with subsequent breakage and telomere healing during meiosis. This illustrates a new genomic mechanism of chromosome rearrangement leading to cri-du-chat syndrome and should provide significant information for the medical management of patients with other terminal deletion syndromes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Division of Medical Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. sarah.south@hsc.utah.edu
authors.forename: Sarah T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: South
authors.forename: Jeffrey J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Swensen
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Maxwell
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rope
authors.forename: Arthur R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Brothman
authors.forename: Zhong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001483:Base Sequence; D002871:Chromosome Banding; D002872:Chromosome Deletion; D007446:Chromosome Inversion; D002895:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 5 / Q000235:genetics*; D003410:Cri-du-Chat Syndrome / Q000235:genetics*; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D007223:Infant; D007621:Karyotyping; D008297:Male; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D008957:Models, Genetic
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers