PAR1 deletions downstream of SHOX are the most frequent defect in a Spanish cohort of Léri-Weill dyschondrosteosis (LWD) probands.

Léri-Weill dyschondrosteosis (LWD) is a skeletal dysplasia characterized by disproportionate short stature and Madelung deformity. Mutations or deletions of the SHOX gene have been previously identified as the main cause of LWD. We recently identified the existence of a second class of pseudoautosomal region 1 (PAR1) deletions which do not include SHOX, implicated in the etiopathogenesis of LWD. The deletions map at least 30-250 kb downstream of SHOX, are variable in size and clearly cosegregate with the LWD phenotype. In order to determine the frequency of this new type of deletions in the Spanish population we analyzed the distribution of PAR1 defects, including the screening of SHOX deletions, mutations, and PAR1 deletions downstream of SHOX, in a total of 26 LWD probands by a combination of MLPA, microsatellite analysis, SNP genotyping, dHPLC, and DNA sequencing. A molecular defect was identified in 16/26 LWD patients (61.5%): 10 PAR1 deletions downstream of SHOX, four SHOX encompassing deletions, and two SHOX mutations. No apparent phenotypic differences were observed between patients with SHOX defects and those with PAR1 deletions downstream of SHOX. In the examined cohort of Spanish LWD probands, PAR1 deletions downstream of SHOX represent the highest proportion of identified mutations (38%) compared to SHOX deletions (15%) and mutations (8%). As a consequence of our findings, the screening of this region should be included in the routine genetic testing of LWD. Also, LWD patients who tested negative for SHOX defects should be re-evaluated for PAR1 deletions downstream of SHOX.

Hemizygosity at the NCF1 gene in patients with Williams-Beuren syndrome decreases their risk of hypertension.

Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS), caused by a heterozygous deletion at 7q11.23, represents a model for studying hypertension, the leading risk factor for mortality worldwide, in a genetically determined disorder. Haploinsufficiency at the elastin gene is known to lead to the vascular stenoses in WBS and is also thought to predispose to hypertension, present in approximately 50% of patients. Detailed clinical and molecular characterization of 96 patients with WBS was performed to explore clinical-molecular correlations. Deletion breakpoints were precisely defined and were found to result in variability at two genes, NCF1 and GTF2IRD2. Hypertension was significantly less prevalent in patients with WBS who had the deletion that included NCF1 (P=.02), a gene coding for the p47(phox) subunit of the NADPH oxidase. Decreased p47(phox) protein levels, decreased superoxide anion production, and lower protein nitrotyrosination were all observed in cell lines from patients hemizygous at NCF1. Our results indicate that the loss of a functional copy of NCF1 protects a proportion of patients with WBS against hypertension, likely through a lifelong reduced angiotensin II-mediated oxidative stress. Therefore, antioxidant therapy that reduces NADPH oxidase activity might have a potential benefit in identifiable patients with WBS in whom serious complications related to hypertension have been reported, as well as in forms of essential hypertension mediated by a similar pathogenic mechanism.

Mutational mechanisms of Williams-Beuren syndrome deletions.

Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS) is a segmental aneusomy syndrome that results from a heterozygous deletion of contiguous genes at 7q11.23. Three large region-specific low-copy repeat elements (LCRs), composed of different blocks (A, B, and C), flank the WBS deletion interval and are thought to predispose to misalignment and unequal crossing-over, causing the deletions. In this study, we have determined the exact deletion size and LCR copy number in 74 patients with WBS, as well as precisely defined deletion breakpoints in 30 of them, using LCR-specific nucleotide differences. Most patients (95%) exhibit a 1.55-Mb deletion caused by recombination between centromeric and medial block B copies, which share approximately 99.6% sequence identity along 105-143 kb. In these cases, deletion breakpoints were mapped at several sites within the recombinant block B, with a cluster (>27%) occurring at a 12 kb region within the GTF2I/GTF2IP1 gene. Almost one-third (28%) of the transmitting progenitors were found to be heterozygous for an inversion between centromeric and telomeric LCRs. All deletion breakpoints in the patients with the inversion occurred in the distal 38-kb block B region only present in the telomeric and medial copies. Finally, only four patients (5%) displayed a larger deletion ( approximately 1.84 Mb) caused by recombination between centromeric and medial block A copies. We propose models for the specific pairing and precise aberrant recombination leading to each of the different germline rearrangements that occur in this region, including inversions and deletions associated with WBS. Chromosomal instability at 7q11.23 is directly related to the genomic structure of the region.