0000000000275225

AUTHOR

Carlo Marcelis

First results of a European multi-center registry of patients with anorectal malformations.

Background: The European consortium on anorectal malformations (ARM-NET) was established to improve the health care of patients and to identify genetic and environmental risk factors. The aim of the present study was to present the first results on clinical data of a large European cohort of ARM patients based on our registry. Methods: In 2010, the registry was established including patient characteristics and data on diagnosis, surgical therapy, and outcome regarding complications. Patients born between 2007 and 2012 were retrospectively added. A descriptive analysis of this cohort was performed. Results: Two hundred and three ARM patients were included. Syndromes or chromosomal abnormalit…

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No major role for periconceptional folic acid use and its interaction with theMTHFR C677Tpolymorphism in the etiology of congenital anorectal malformations

Background: Both genetic and nongenetic factors are suggested to be involved in the etiology of congenital anorectal malformations (ARM). Maternal periconceptional use of folic acid supplements were inconsistently suggested to play a role in the prevention of ARM. Therefore, we investigated independent associations and interactions of maternal periconceptional folic acid supplement use and the infant and maternal MTHFR (methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase) C677T polymorphisms with the risk of ARM and subgroups of ARM. Methods: A case-control study was conducted among 371 nonsyndromic ARM cases and 714 population-based controls born between 1990 and 2012 using maternal questionnaires and DNA…

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ISL1 is a major susceptibility gene for classic bladder exstrophy and a regulator of urinary tract development

AbstractPreviously genome-wide association methods in patients with classic bladder exstrophy (CBE) found association with ISL1, a master control gene expressed in pericloacal mesenchyme. This study sought to further explore the genetics in a larger set of patients following-up on the most promising genomic regions previously reported. Genotypes of 12 markers obtained from 268 CBE patients of Australian, British, German Italian, Spanish and Swedish origin and 1,354 ethnically matched controls and from 92 CBE case-parent trios from North America were analysed. Only marker rs6874700 at the ISL1 locus showed association (p = 2.22 × 10−08). A meta-analysis of rs6874700 of our previous and prese…

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De novo 13q deletions in two patients with mild anorectal malformations as part of VATER/VACTERL and VATER/VACTERL-like association and analysis of EFNB2 in patients with anorectal malformations

Item does not contain fulltext Anorectal malformations (ARMs) comprise a broad spectrum of conditions ranging from mild anal anomalies to complex cloacal malformations. In 40-50% of cases, ARM occurs within the context of defined genetic syndromes or complex multiple congenital anomalies, such as VATER/VACTERL (vertebral defects [V], ARMs [A], cardiac defects [C], tracheoesophageal fistula with or without esophageal atresia [TE], renal malformations [R], and limb defects [L]) association. Here, we report the identification of deletions at chromosome 13q using single nucleotide polymorphism-based array analysis in two patients with mild ARM as part of VATER/VACTERL and VATER/VACTERL-like ass…

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Genome-wide association study and mouse expression data identify a highly conserved 32 kb intergenic region between WNT3 and WNT9b as possible susceptibility locus for isolated classic exstrophy of the bladder

Item does not contain fulltext Bladder exstrophy-epispadias complex (BEEC), the severe end of the urorectal malformation spectrum, has a profound impact on continence as well as sexual and renal functions. It is widely accepted that for the majority of cases the genetic basis appears to be multifactorial. Here, we report the first study which utilizes genome-wide association methods to analyze a cohort comprising patients presenting the most common BEEC form, classic bladder exstrophy (CBE), to identify common variation associated with risk for isolated CBE. We employed discovery and follow-up samples comprising 218 cases/865 controls and 78 trios in total, all of European descent. Our disc…

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PORCNmutations in focal dermal hypoplasia: coping with lethality

The X-linked dominant trait focal dermal hypoplasia (FDH, Goltz syndrome) is a developmental defect with focal distribution of affected tissues due to a block of Wnt signal transmission from cells carrying a detrimental PORCN mutation on an active X-chromosome. Molecular characterization of 24 unrelated patients from different ethnic backgrounds revealed 23 different mutations of the PORCN gene in Xp11.23. Three were microdeletions eliminating PORCN and encompassing neighboring genes such as EBP, the gene associated with Conradi-Hunermann-Happle syndrome (CDPX2). 12/24 patients carried nonsense mutations resulting in loss of function. In one case a canonical splice acceptor site was mutated…

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Exome chip association study excluded the involvement of rare coding variants with large effect sizes in the etiology of anorectal malformations

IntroductionAnorectal malformations (ARM) are rare congenital malformations, resulting from disturbed hindgut development. A genetic etiology has been suggested, but evidence for the involvement of specific genes is scarce. We evaluated the contribution of rare and low-frequency coding variants in ARM etiology, assuming a multifactorial model.MethodsWe analyzed 568 Caucasian ARM patients and 1,860 population-based controls using the Illumina Human Exome Beadchip array, which contains >240,000 rare and low-frequency coding variants. GenomeStudio clustering and calling was followed by re-calling of 'no-calls' using zCall for patients and controls simultaneously. Single variant and gene-bas…

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