Genotyping of the C742T mutation of the FGFR3 gene causing type 1 thanatophoric dysplasia by high-resolution melting analysis.

Type 1 thanatophoric dysplasia (TD) is typically a lethal dwarfism. It is not always possible to distinguish fetuses with TD from other skeletal dysplasia in utero by ultrasonography. A definite diagnosis should be established by molecular genetic analysis to find out the abnormal mutations in the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR 3) gene. Among the known mutations of this gene, the C742T (R248C) mutation is the most common one associated with type 1 TD. Exon 7 of the FGFR3 gene was analyzed in 10 prenatal samples with type 1 TD, as well as in 30 control individuals for the presence of the c.742 C > T variant using melting curve analysis with a high-resolution melting instrument. The high-resolution melting curve analysis successfully genotyped this mutation in all 10 samples with type 1 TD without the need of further assays. The technique had a sensitivity and specificity of 100%. This study suggest that high-resolution melting analysis is a simple, rapid, and sensitive one tube assay for genotyping the FGFR3 gene.