Common genetic variants contribute to risk of transposition of the great arteries

Rationale: Dextro-transposition of the great arteries (D-TGA) is a severe congenital heart defect which affects approximately 1 in 4,000 live births. While there are several reports of D-TGA patients with rare variants in individual genes, the majority of D-TGA cases remain genetically elusive. Familial recurrence patterns and the observation that most cases with D-TGA are sporadic suggest a polygenic inheritance for the disorder, yet this remains unexplored. Objective: We sought to study the role of common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in risk for D-TGA. Methods and Results: We conducted a genome-wide association study in an international set of 1,237 patients with D-TGA and identified a genome-wide significant susceptibility locus on chromosome 3p14.3, which was subsequently replicated in an independent case-control set (rs56219800, meta-analysis P=8.6x10-10, OR=0.69 per C allele). SNP-based heritability analysis showed that 25% of variance in susceptibility to D-TGA may be explained by common variants. A genome-wide polygenic risk score derived from the discovery set was significantly associated to D-TGA in the replication set (P=4x10-5). The genome-wide significant locus (3p14.3) co-localizes with a putative regulatory element that interacts with the promoter of WNT5A, which encodes the Wnt Family Member 5A protein known for its role in cardiac development in mice. We show that this element drives reporter gene activity in the developing heart of mice and zebrafish and is bound by the developmental transcription factor TBX20. We further demonstrate that TBX20 attenuates Wnt5a expression levels in the developing mouse heart. Conclusions: This work provides support for a polygenic architecture in D-TGA and identifies a susceptibility locus on chromosome 3p14.3 near WNT5A. Genomic and functional data support a causal role of WNT5A at the locus

Specific language impairment in children with velocardiofacial syndrome: Four case studies

Objective: To describe specific language impairment in four children with velocardiofacial syndrome (VCFS). Design: A descriptive, retrospective study of four cases. Setting: University Hospital Groningen, tertiary clinical care. Patients: Of 350 patients with cleft plate, 18 children were diagnosed with VCFS. Four children are described. Interventions: In all children, cardiac and plastic surgery was carried out in the first year of life. Afterward, interventions consisted of hearing improvement, pharyngoplasty, and speech therapy. Main Outcome: Inadequate and uncharacteristic development of articulation and expressive language in four children with VCFS were observed. They differed from the majority in two ways: their nonverbal 10 was in the normal range, and their language skills were below expectations for their IQ. Results: Four of 18 patients with VCFS (22%) showed poor response to therapy and did not develop language in accordance with their normal learning abilities (nonverbal learning capacities and language comprehension). Persistent hypernasal resonance and severe articulation problems remained in all four children. In two children the expressive language profile was also not in agreement with the nonverbal profile: they produced only two- and three-word utterances at the age of 6.0 and 5.3 years. The other two children at the age of 6.8 and 6.4 years produced very long sentences, but they were unintelligible. Conclusions: The speech and language impairment of the four children may be characterized as a phonological or verbal programming deficit syndrome and as such can be described as a specific language impairment in conjunction with VCFS

Inheritance of congenital heart disease

Congenital heart defects (CHD) are the most common developmental anomalies and are the leading noninfectious cause of mortality in newborn babies. It has been estimated that between four and ten live-born infants per 1000 have a cardiac malformation (0.4 to 1.0%), 40% of which are diagnosed in the first year of life. The European Registration of Congenital Anomalies (EUROCAT) reported a prevalence of 58.9/10,000 live births in the northern part of the Netherlands (0.6%). Hoffman estimated that the true prevalence of CHD may be as high as 53 per 1000 pregnancies (5.3%), including a 20% occurrence of heart defects in spontaneous abortion, a 10% occurrence in stillbirth, and a 1% occurrence in live birth

11q-syndrome: Three cases and a review of the literature

11q-syndrome: three cases and a review of the literature: We report on three children with de novo terminal deletions of the long arm of chromosome 11 (11q-) and breakpoints in 11q23-q24. Eighty-nine other patients with partial monosomy 11q have been reported and were reviewed by us. Salient features of 11q-syndrome are psychomotor retardation, trigonocephaly telecanthus/hypertelorism, broad depressed nasal bridge, micrognathia, low set abnormal ears, cardiac anomalies and hand/foot anomalies. Renal agenesis and anal atresia are reported first here. Supratentorial white matter abnormality on CT and MRI present in our second patient was reported in three patients. Increased mortality is caused by cardiac anomalies. A third of all patients with partial monosomy 11q had thrombocytopenia or pancytopenia and this seems to be related to the absence of band 11q23-q24. Seventy-six percent of patients have de novo deletions with breakpoints in 11q21-q25. There is no obvious correlation between the length of the deleted segment and the severity of the symptoms. In unbalanced chromosomal patterns with deletions of 11q involving bands 11q23-q24 the typical phenotype of 11q-syndrome remains recognizable. Deletions distal to 11q24.1 do not produce the typical 11q-syndrome

11q-syndrome:Three cases and a review of the literature

11q-syndrome: three cases and a review of the literature: We report on three children with de novo terminal deletions of the long arm of chromosome 11 (11q-) and breakpoints in 11q23-q24. Eighty-nine other patients with partial monosomy 11q have been reported and were reviewed by us. Salient features of 11q-syndrome are psychomotor retardation, trigonocephaly telecanthus/hypertelorism, broad depressed nasal bridge, micrognathia, low set abnormal ears, cardiac anomalies and hand/foot anomalies. Renal agenesis and anal atresia are reported first here. Supratentorial white matter abnormality on CT and MRI present in our second patient was reported in three patients. Increased mortality is caused by cardiac anomalies. A third of all patients with partial monosomy 11q had thrombocytopenia or pancytopenia and this seems to be related to the absence of band 11q23-q24. Seventy-six percent of patients have de novo deletions with breakpoints in 11q21-q25. There is no obvious correlation between the length of the deleted segment and the severity of the symptoms. In unbalanced chromosomal patterns with deletions of 11q involving bands 11q23-q24 the typical phenotype of 11q-syndrome remains recognizable. Deletions distal to 11q24.1 do not produce the typical 11q-syndrome