[Molecular diagnosis of retinoblastoma: molecular epidemiology and genetic counseling]. / Diagnóstico molecular del retinoblastoma: epidemiología molecular y consejo genético.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Retinoblastoma, a prototype of hereditary cancer, is the most common intraocular tumor in children and a potential cause of blindness from therapeutic eye ablation, second tumors in germ line mutation carriers, and even death when untreated. The molecular scanning of RB1 in search of germ line mutations in 213 retinoblastoma patients from Spain, Cuba, Colombia and Serbia, has led to the detection of 106 mutations whose knowledge is important for genetic counselling and characterization of phenotypic-genotypic relations. PATIENTS AND METHOD: Mutational study (PCR-sequentiation and microsatellites analysis) in patients with retinoblastoma, from Spain, Cuba, Colombia and Serbia. RESULTS: 45% of mutations, including most of the frame shift (FS), missense (MS) and splicing (SP), were new, while all nonsense mutations (NS) corresponded to hypermutable sites in RB1. Germ line mutations were found in 22% of unilateral sporadic patients. The incidence of SP plus MS mutations in this group of patients was greater (p = 0.018) than in bilateral patients. The frequency of SP mutations was higher (p = 0.0003) in Spain and France than in Germany and United Kingdom, while the incidence of NS mutations was lower (p = 0.0006). SP mutations were associated with the low penetrance phenotype and were also overrepresented (p = 0.018) in patients with delayed retinoblastoma onset. CONCLUSIONS: Mutational scanning of unilateral patients is important for genetic counselling and may help decipher the molecular mechanisms leading to low penetrance or expressivity. The functional characterization of mutations associated with low-penetrance or expressivity phenotypes and the molecular classification of tumors using multiple expression profiling is important for a better understanding of the retinoblastoma pathogenesis.

Diagnóstico molecular del retinoblastoma: epidemiología molecular y consejo genético / Molecular diagnosis of retinoblastoma: molecular epidemiology and genetic counseling

Fundamento y objetivo: El retinoblastoma, prototipo de cáncer hereditario, puede causar ceguera, por enucleación terapéutica, segundos tumores en pacientes con mutación germinal e incluso muerte si no se trata. El diagnóstico molecular de 213 pacientes a lo largo de 5 años ha conducido a la detección de 106 mutaciones que se analizan desde la perspectiva de la epidemiología molecular y consejo genético. Pacientes y método: Estudio mutacional (reacción en cadena de la polimerasa, secuenciación y análisis de microsatélites) en pacientes con retinoblastoma procedentes de España, Cuba, Colombia y Serbia. Resultados: Un 45% de las mutaciones analizadas son nuevas y corresponden a mutaciones de tipo de corrimiento de pauta de lectura, cambio de aminoácido o procesado del ácido ribonucleico. Todas las mutaciones sin sentido corresponden a sitios de alta mutabilidad. La tasa de detección de mutaciones en pacientes unilaterales esporádicos es alta (22%). En este grupo de pacientes se detecta una mayor incidencia (p = 0,018) de mutaciones de cambio de aminoácido y procesamiento. España y Francia muestran una incidencia mayor de mutaciones del procesado (p = 0,0003) que Alemania y el Reino Unido, países en los que predominan las mutaciones sin sentido (p = 0,0006). Las mutaciones del procesado se asocian al fenotipo de baja penetración y retraso en la aparición de tumores (p = 0,018). Conclusiones: La incidencia de mutaciones germinales en pacientes unilaterales y las relaciones fenotipo/genotipo analizadas indican la necesidad del consejo genético basado en el diagnóstico molecular temprano. La mejora de las técnicas diagnósticas, la caracterización funcional de mutaciones asociadas a baja penetrancia o expresividad y el estudio del transcriptoma de los tumores son objetivos necesarios para definir mejor la patogenia del retinoblastoma

Background and objective: Retinoblastoma, a prototype of hereditary cancer, is the most common intraocular tumor in children and a potential cause of blindness from therapeutic eye ablation, second tumors in germ line mutation carriers, and even death when untreated. The molecular scanning of RB1 in search of germ line mutations in 213 retinoblastoma patients from Spain, Cuba, Colombia and Serbia, has led to the detection of 106 mutations whose knowledge is important for genetic counselling and characterization of phenotypic-genotypic relations. Patients and method: Mutational study (PCR-sequentiation and microsatellites analysis) in patients with retinoblastoma, from Spain, Cuba, Colombia and Serbia. Results: 45% of mutations, including most of the frame shift (FS), missense (MS) and splicing (SP), were new, while all nonsense mutations (NS) corresponded to hypermutable sites in RB1. Germ line mutations were found in 22% of unilateral sporadic patients. The incidence of SP plus MS mutations in this group of patients was greater (p = 0.018) than in bilateral patients. The frequency of SP mutations was higher (p = 0.0003) in Spain and France than in Germany and United Kingdom, while the incidence of NS mutations was lower (p = 0.0006). SP mutations were associated with the low penetrance phenotype and were also overrepresented (p = 0.018) in patients with delayed retinoblastoma onset. Conclusions: Mutational scanning of unilateral patients is important for genetic counselling and may help decipher the molecular mechanisms leading to low penetrance or expressivity. The functional characterization of mutations associated with low-penetrance or expressivity phenotypes and the molecular classification of tumors using multiple expression profiling is important for a better understanding of the retinoblastoma pathogenesis

Identification of 26 new constitutional RB1 gene mutations in Spanish, Colombian, and Cuban retinoblastoma patients.

Constitutional mutations in the RB1 gene predispose to retinoblastoma development. Hence genetic screening of retinoblastoma patients and relatives is important for genetic counseling purposes. In addition, RB1 gene mutation studies may help decipher the molecular mechanisms leading to tumors with different degrees of penetrance or expressivity. In the course of genetically screening of 107 hereditary and non-hereditary retinoblastoma patients (11 familiar bilateral, 4 familiar unilateral, 49 sporadic bilateral and 43 sporadic unilateral) and kindred from Spain, Colombia and Cuba, using direct PCR sequencing, we observed 45 distinct mutations and four RB1 deletions in 53 patients (9 familiar bilateral, 2 familiar unilateral, 31 sporadic bilateral and 11 sporadic unilateral). Most of these mutations (26/45, 57%) have not been reported before. In 32 patients, the predisposing mutations correspond to nonsense (mainly CpG transitions) and small insertions or deletions whose expected outcome is a truncated Rb protein that lacks the functional pockets and tail. Five single aminoacid replacements and seventeen mutations affecting splicing sites were also observed in retinoblastoma patients. Two of these sixteen mutations are of unclear pathogenic nature.

Primary amenorrhea in a woman with a cryptic complex chromosome rearrangement involving the critical regions Xp11.2 and Xq24.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize a complex chromosome rearrangement (CCR) previously detected by G-banding in peripheral blood lymphocytes, as 46,X,-2,-11,-22,-X,+mar 1+mar2+mar3+mar4 in a patient with primary amenorrhea. DESIGN: Case report. SETTING: University faculty of Medicine and hospital. PATIENT(S): A 36-year-old woman with primary amenorrhea. INTERVENTION(S): Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Use of commercially available M-FISH probe (24 colors simultaneously) and whole chromosome painting probes for chromosomes 2, 11, 22, and X to characterize the CCR. RESULT(S): The use of conventional and multiple FISH allowed the redefinition of the CCR, showing a cryptic insertion of chromosome 11 in marker 3 previously suspected by M-FISH. The combination of G-banding and FISH data revealed that four chromosomes and seven breakpoints, including 2q21, 2q31, 11q22.1, 11q22.3, 22q13.3, Xp11.21, and Xq24, were implicated in this CCR. CONCLUSION(S): This report confirms the importance of a combination of G-banding and FISH (M-FISH and conventional FISH) techniques to characterize the de novo CCR. These techniques also were useful in defining two possible critical chromosome regions, Xp11.21 and Xq24, in which genes of potential interest for a primary amenorrhea could be located.

Síndrome de Beals-Hecht: relato de um caso neonatal / Beals-Hecht Syndrome: report of a neonatal caso

Aracnodactilia Contratual Congênita(ACC) é um transtorno herdado do tecido comjuntivo. Os achados mais característicos säo contraturas congênitas múltiplas, dolicoestenomelia, deformidades do pavilhäo auricular, cifoescoliose e camptodactilia. Nós relatamos um caso de ACC diagnosticado ao nascimento.