A deletion of the HBII-85 class of small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) is associated with hyperphagia, obesity and hypogonadism.
Genetic studies in patients with severe early-onset obesity have provided insights into the molecular and physiological pathways that regulate body weight in humans. We report a 19-year-old male with hyperphagia and severe obesity, mild learning difficulties and hypogonadism, in whom diagnostic tests for Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) had been negative. We carried out detailed clinical and metabolic phenotyping of this patient and investigated the genetic basis of this obesity syndrome using Agilent 185 k array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) and Affymetrix 6.0 genotyping arrays. The identified deletion was validated using multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification and long-range PCR, followed by breakpoint sequencing which enabled precise localization of the deletion. We identified a approximately 187 kb microdeletion at chromosome 15q11-13 that encompasses non-coding small nucleolar RNAs (including HBII-85 snoRNAs) which were not expressed in peripheral lymphocytes from the patient. Characterization of the clinical phenotype revealed increased ad libitum food intake, normal basal metabolic rate when adjusted for fat-free mass, partial hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and growth failure. We have identified a novel deletion on chromosome 15q11-13 in an individual with hyperphagia, obesity, hypogonadism and other features associated with PWS, which is normally caused by deficiency of several paternally expressed imprinted transcripts within chromosome 15q11-13, a region that includes multiple protein-coding genes as well as several non-coding snoRNAs. These findings provide direct evidence for the role of a particular family of non-coding RNAs, the HBII-85 snoRNA cluster, in human energy homeostasis, growth and reproduction.
de Smith
Adam J
AJ
Section of Genomic Medicine, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, London, UK.
Purmann
Carolin
C
Walters
Robin G
RG
Ellis
Richard J
RJ
Holder
Susan E
SE
Van Haelst
Mieke M
MM
Brady
Angela F
AF
Fairbrother
Una L
UL
Dattani
Mehul
M
Keogh
Julia M
JM
Henning
Elana
E
Yeo
Giles S H
GS
O'Rahilly
Stephen
S
Froguel
Philippe
P
Farooqi
I Sadaf
IS
Blakemore
Alexandra I F
AI
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D002884:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 15 / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D006963:Hyperphagia / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D007006:Hypogonadism / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009765:Obesity / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D020537:RNA, Small Nucleolar / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D055815:Young Adult
D020537:RNA, Small Nucleolar