Clinical features and genetic testing of a Chinese pedigree affected with Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome / 中华医学遗传学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To analyze the clinical features and genetic variants of two patients from a pedigree affected with Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome and explore their genotype-phenotype correlation.@*METHODS@#Clinical data and family history of the pedigree were collected. Whole exome sequencing was carried out to identify the potential variants. Suspected variants were verified by Sanger sequencing of the family members.@*RESULTS@#The proband and her sister both presented with feeding difficulty, facial dysmorphism, seizures, and mental and speech retardation. The third child of this family presented with feeding difficulty, poor weight gain and severe malnutrition after birth. He had died of unknown cause at 6 months without genetic testing. The fourth child was a healthy boy. Genetic testing showed that both the proband and her sister have carried c.127G>T (p.Val43Phe) and c.820_825del (p.Asn274_Val275del) compound heterozygous variants of the DHCR7 gene (NM_001360.2), but the fourth child carried neither of the variants. The two variants were unreported in the literature and disease-related databases, and were not included in the 1000G and gnomAD databases. The c.820_825del variant may affect the sterol-sensitive region of the DHCR7 protein, which can lead to deletion of two amino acids at positions 247 and 275, causing truncation of the DHCR7 protein. It is speculated that this may affect the stability of protein's spatial conformation, thereby decrease the activity of the enzyme. The c.127G>T variant may affect the first transmembrane region of the protein, which is involved in the transmembrane transport of proteins. Multiple software predicted it to be harmful. Conservation analysis suggested that the three amino acids all locate in a highly conserved region of the protein. In consideration of the clinical phenotype, family history and result of genetic testing, we speculated that both patients had Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome due to variants of the DHCR7 gene.@*CONCLUSION@#This pedigree has enriched the phenotypic and genotypic data of Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome, which clarified the genetic etiology of the patients and provided a basis for genetic counseling of this pedigree.

Clinical and genetic analysis of a Chinese pedigree affected with Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome / 中华医学遗传学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the clinical phenotype and pathogenic variants in a Chinese pedigree affected with Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome.@*METHODS@#Peripheral blood samples were collected from five members, including two affected ones, from the pedigree for the extraction of genomic DNA. Whole exome sequencing was carried out, and candidate variants were verified by Sanger sequencing as well as reverse transcription sequencing at the RNA level.@*RESULTS@#The proband and another affected child from the pedigree showed mental retardation, dyskinesia, microcephaly, micrognathia, anteverted nares, and 2/3 toe syndactyly. The proband also had hypospadia, single upper incisor, and lower serum cholesterol level. Both children were found to harbor a paternally derived c.278C>T (p.T93M) variant and a maternally derived c.907G>A (p.G303R) variant of the DHCR7 gene. Both were known pathogenic mutations.@*CONCLUSION@#The compound heterozygous mutations of c.278C>T (p.T93M) and c.907G>A (p.G303R) of the DHCR7 gene probably underlay the disease in this pedigree. Above finding has enabled early diagnosis and treatment of Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome.

Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome: clinical and biochemical findings in Brazilian patients

Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (SLOS) or RSH syndrome comprises multiple congenital anomalies and mental retardation. The underlying defect is a deficiency in the activity of delta7-sterol reductase, which decreases cholesterol and increases 7-dehydrocholesterol (7-DHC) levels. Our aim was to identify and evaluate the frequency of SLOS manifestations in a group of Brazilian patients. Based on our own data and those reported previously, we present a simple method that allows the estimation of probabilities favoring the diagnosis of SLOS. We evaluated 30 patients clinically and determined their plasma levels of cholesterol and 7-dehydrocholesterol. In 11 patients, the diagnosis was confirmed by ultraviolet spectrophotometry (UV). Of 19 patients with normal laboratory results, 17 showed a high probability favoring the diagnosis of SLOS. The most significant signs and symptoms observed in over 2/3 of the biochemically confirmed cases were mental retardation (10/11), delayed neuropsychomotor development (10/11), syndactyly of 2nd/3rd toes (10/11), and craniofacial anomalies including microcephaly (11/11), incompletely rotated ears (8/11), palpebral ptosis (10/11), anteverted nostrils (10/11), and micrognathia (9/11). Genital anomalies were found in all male patients (6/6).

Síndromes de Smith-Lemli-Optiz en dos hermanos. Presentación del caso / Smith-Lemli-Optiz Syndrome in two brothers. Case presentation

El síndrome de Smith-Lemli-Opitz es una entidad de etiología autosómica recesiva, que cursa con malformaciones congénitas, retraso del crecimiento y desarrollo pre y posnatal y es causa de muerte a temprana edad. No se conoce tratamiento, por lo que solamente se cuenta con el asesoramiento genético para evitar la aparición de nuevos casos.Se presenta el caso de dos hermanos, hijos de padres consanguíneos. Ambos fueron detectados desde el nacimiento y aun cuando se diagnosticaron al mes de vida, el asesoramiento genético proporcionando a los padres no fue efectivo, ya que después del primer hijo afectado tuvieron dos embarazos más, resultando afectado el producto del segundo de éstos. Se ha encontrado una deficiencia en la síntesis de colesterol, por lo que es posible hacer el diagnóstico prenatal en las mujeres que tienen antecedentes de gestas previas con esta enfermedad