Pregnancy outcomes following 24-chromosome preimplantation genetic diagnosis in couples with balanced reciprocal or Robertsonian translocations

ObjectiveTo report live birth rates (LBR) and total aneuploidy rates in a series of patients with balanced translocations who pursued in vitro fertilization (IVF)–preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) cycles.DesignRetrospective cohort analysis.SettingGenetic testing reference laboratory.Patient(s)Seventy-four couples who underwent IVF-PGD due to a parental translocation.Intervention(s)IVF cycles and embryo biopsies were performed by referring clinics. Biopsy samples were sent to a single reference lab for PGD for the translocation plus 24-chromosome aneuploidy screening with the use of a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) microarray.Main Outcome Measure(s)LBR per biopsy cycle, aneuploidy rate, embryo transfer (ET) rate, miscarriage rate.Result(s)The LBR per IVF biopsy cycle was 38%. LBR for patients reaching ET was 52%. Clinical miscarriage rate was 10%. Despite a mean age of 33.8 years and mean of 7 embryos biopsied, there was a 30% chance for no chromosomally normal embryos. Maternal age >35 years, day 3 biopsy, and having fewer than five embryos available for biopsy increased the risk of no ET.Conclusion(s)IVF-PGD for translocation and aneuploidy screening had good clinical outcomes. Patients carrying a balanced translocation who are considering IVF-PGD should be aware of the high risk of no ET, particularly in women ≥35 years old

Deletions flanked by breakpoints 3 and 4 on 15q13 may contribute to abnormal phenotypes

Non-allelic homologous recombination (NAHR) between segmental duplications in proximal chromosome 15q breakpoint (BP) regions can lead to microdeletions and microduplications. Several individuals with deletions flanked by BP3 and BP4 on 15q13, immediately distal to, and not including the Prader–Willi/Angelman syndrome (PW/AS) critical region and proximal to the BP4–BP5 15q13.3 microdeletion syndrome region, have been reported; however, because the deletion has also been found in normal relatives, the significance of these alterations is unclear. We have identified six individuals with deletions limited to the BP3–BP4 interval and an additional four individuals with deletions of the BP3–BP5 interval from 34 046 samples submitted for clinical testing by microarray-based comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH). Of four individuals with BP3–BP4 deletions for whom parental testing was conducted, two were apparently de novo and two were maternally inherited. A comparison of clinical features, available for five individuals in our study (four with deletions within BP3–BP4 and one with a BP3-BP5 deletion), with those in the literature show common features of short stature and/or failure to thrive, microcephaly, hypotonia, and premature breast development in some individuals. Although the BP3–BP4 deletion does not yet demonstrate statistically significant enrichment in abnormal populations compared with control populations, the presence of common clinical features among probands and the presence of genes with roles in development and nervous system function in the deletion region suggest that this deletion may have a role in abnormal phenotypes in some individuals