An interstitial deletion at 8q23.1-q24.12 associated with Langer-Giedion syndrome/Trichorhinophalangeal syndrome (TRPS) type II and Cornelia de Lange syndrome 4

Background: There are three distinct subtypes of Trichorhinophalangeal syndrome (TRPS); TRPS type I, TRPS type II and TRPS type III. Features common to all three subtypes include sparse, slowly growing scalp hair, laterally sparse eyebrows, a bulbous tip of the nose (pear-shaped), and protruding ears. Langer-Giedion syndrome (LGS) or TRPS type II is a contiguous gene syndrome on 8q24.1, involving loss of functional copies of the TRPS1 and EXT1 genes. We report a male patient that was referred to the Department of Medical Genetics due to hypotonia and dysmorphic facial features. Results: Cytogenetic and array-Comparative Genomic Hybridization (aCGH) analysis revealed that the patient was a carrier of an interstitial deletion at 8q23.1-q24.12 of 12,5 Mb. Parental karyotype indicated that the father carried an apparently balanced insertion: 46, XY, der(10) ins(10;8)(q22;q23q24). Conclusions: This is the first report of an apparently balanced insertion including chromosomes 8 and 10 contributing to the etiology of LGS/TRPS type II. Timely diagnosis of parental balanced chromosomal rearrangements can reduce the risk of subsequent miscarriages as well as abnormal offspring.