15 research outputs found

    Pathogenesis of vestibular schwannoma in ring chromosome 22

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    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Ring chromosome 22 is a rare human constitutional cytogenetic abnormality. Clinical features of neurofibromatosis type 1 and 2 as well as different tumour types have been reported in patients with ring chromosome 22. The pathogenesis of these tumours is not always clear yet.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We report on a female patient with a ring chromosome 22 presenting with severe mental retardation, autistic behaviour, café-au-lait macules and facial dysmorphism. Peripheral blood lymphocytes were karyotyped and array CGH was performed on extracted DNA. At the age of 20 years she was diagnosed with a unilateral vestibular schwannoma. Tumour cells were analyzed by karyotyping, array CGH and <it>NF2 </it>mutation analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Karyotype on peripheral blood lymphocytes revealed a ring chromosome 22 in all analyzed cells. A 1 Mb array CGH experiment on peripheral blood DNA showed a deletion of 5 terminal clones on the long arm of chromosome 22. Genetic analysis of vestibular schwannoma tissue revealed loss of the ring chromosome 22 and a somatic second hit in the <it>NF2 </it>gene on the remaining chromosome 22.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We conclude that tumours can arise by the combination of loss of the ring chromosome and a pathogenic <it>NF2 </it>mutation on the remaining chromosome 22 in patients with ring chromosome 22. Our findings indicate that patients with a ring 22 should be monitored for NF2-related tumours starting in adolescence.</p

    Expanding the clinical phenotype of individuals with a 3-bp in-frame deletion of the NF1 gene (c.2970_2972del): an update of genotype–phenotype correlation

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    Purpose: Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is characterized by a highly variable clinical presentation, but almost all NF1-affected adults present with cutaneous and/or subcutaneous neurofibromas. Exceptions are individuals heterozygous for the NF1 in-frame deletion, c.2970_2972del (p.Met992del), associated with a mild phenotype without any externally visible tumors. Methods: A total of 135 individuals from 103 unrelated families, all carrying the constitutional NF1 p.Met992del pathogenic variant and clinically assessed using the same standardized phenotypic checklist form, were included in this study. Results: None of the individuals had externally visible plexiform or histopathologically confirmed cutaneous or subcutaneous neurofibromas. We did not identify any complications, such as symptomatic optic pathway gliomas (OPGs) or symptomatic spinal neurofibromas; however, 4.8% of individuals had nonoptic brain tumors, mostly low-grade and asymptomatic, and 38.8% had cognitive impairment/learning disabilities. In an individual with the NF1 constitutional c.2970_2972del and three astrocytomas, we provided proof that all were NF1-associated tumors given loss of heterozygosity at three intragenic NF1 microsatellite markers and c.2970_297

    Observations on intelligence and behavior in 15 patients with Legius syndrome

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    Legius syndrome is a RAS-MAPK syndrome characterized by pigmentary findings similar to neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), but without tumor complications. Learning difficulties and behavioral problems have been reported to be associated with Legius syndrome, but have not been studied systematically. We investigated intelligence and behavior in 15 patients with Legius syndrome and 7 unaffected family members. We report a mean full-scale IQ of 101.57 in patients with Legius syndrome, which does not differ from the control group. We find a significantly lower Performance IQ in children with Legius syndrome compared to their unaffected family members. Few behavioral problems are present as assessed by the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) questionnaire. Our observations suggest that, akin to the milder somatic phenotype, the cognitive phenotype in Legius syndrome is less severe than that of NF1. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.status: publishe

    Spred1 is required for synaptic plasticity and hippocampus-dependent learning

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    Germline mutations in SPRED1, a negative regulator of Ras, have been described in a neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1)-like syndrome (NFLS) that included learning difficulties in some affected individuals. NFLS belongs to the group of phenotypically overlapping neurocardio-facial-cutaneous syndromes that are all caused by germ line mutations in genes of the Ras/mitogen-activated protein kinase extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway and that present with some degree of learning difficulties or mental retardation. We investigated hippocampus-dependent learning and memory as well as synaptic plasticity in Spred1-/-mice, an animal model of this newly discovered human syndrome. Spred1-/-mice show decreased learning and memory performance in the Morris water maze and visual-discrimination T-maze, but normal basic neuromotor and sensory abilities. Electrophysiological recordings on brain slices from these animals identified defects in short- and long-term synaptic hippocampal plasticity, including a disequilibrium between long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression in CA1 region. Biochemical analysis, 4 h after LTP induction, demonstrated increased ERK-phosphorylation in Spred1-/-slices compared with those of wild-type littermates. This indicates that deficits in hippocampusdependent learning and synaptic plasticity induced by SPRED1 deficiency are related to hyperactivation of the Ras/ERK pathway. Copyrigh

    Germline loss-of-function mutations in SPRED1 cause a neurofibromatosis-1 like phenotype

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    We report germline loss- of- function mutations in SPRED1 in a newly identified autosomal dominant human disorder. SPRED1 is a member of the SPROUTY/ SPRED family(1) of proteins that act as negative regulators of RAS- RAF interaction and mitogen-activated protein kinase ( MAPK) signaling(2). The clinical features of the reported disorder resemble those of neurofibromatosis type 1 and consist of multiple cafe - au- lait spots, axillary freckling and macrocephaly. Melanocytes from a cafe - au- lait spot showed, in addition to the germline SPRED1 mutation, an acquired somatic mutation in the wild- type SPRED1 allele, indicating that complete SPRED1 inactivation is needed to generate a cafe - au- lait spot in this syndrome. This disorder is yet another member of the recently characterized group of phenotypically overlapping syndromes caused by mutations in the genes encoding key components of the RAS- MAPK pathway(3,4). To our knowledge, this is the first report of mutations in the SPRY ( SPROUTY)/ SPRED family of genes in human disease
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