Chromosomal uniparental disomy 16 and fetal intrauterine growth restriction.

BACKGROUND

There is a well-documented association between prenatally diagnosed chromosomal uniparental disomy and poor pregnancy outcome.

METHODS AND RESULT: In this study, we identified an intrauterine growth restricted fetus carrying a maternal UPD 16 with segmental hetero- and isodisomy using the Affymetrix CytoScan HD SNP-array and the UPDtool. We also performed FISH to exclude trisomy mosaicism of chr.16. We then explored the genetic mechanisms of how imprinted genes cause clinical abnormalities. Additionally, we reviewed the mUPD16 literature, compared the clinical phenotypes of our patient with other reported cases, and assessed the loss of autosomal-recessive genes in the regions of homozygosity.

CONCLUSIONS

Considering UPD mechanism of potential impact on the function of the placenta, the genetic composition of chromosome 16, and the information previous literature reports, we have reason to believe that UPD16 correlates with IUGR.