Usefulness of the MS-MLPA technique in the diagnosis of Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome and Silver-Russell syndrome.

INTRODUCTION

Epigenetic and genomic imprinting alterations of the 11p15.5 region cause excessive or deficient growth, which result in Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS) or Silver-Russell syndrome (SRS), respectively.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the methylation-specific multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MS-MLPA) methylation analysis technique in the diagnosis of BWS and SRS.

METHODS

11p15.5 methylation and variants were evaluated in patients with clinical diagnosis of BWS and SRS using the MS-MLPA technique in peripheral blood DNA.

RESULTS

Paternal uniparental disomy and loss of maternal IC2 methylation were identified in two patients with BWS who had omphalocele and macroglossia, respectively. Paternal IC1hypomethylation was recorded in two patients with SRS of classic phenotype.

CONCLUSIONS

Adequate genotype-phenotype correlation was observed with the methylation defects that were identified, which confirms the usefulness of MLPA as a first-line study in patients diagnosed with BWS and SRS.