0000000000428519

AUTHOR

Rita Fischetto

Clinical Utility of a Unique Genome-Wide DNA Methylation Signature for KMT2A-Related Syndrome

Wiedemann–Steiner syndrome (WDSTS) is a Mendelian syndromic intellectual disability (ID) condition associated with hypertrichosis cubiti, short stature, and characteristic facies caused by pathogenic variants in the KMT2A gene. Clinical features can be inconclusive in mild and unusual WDSTS presentations with variable ID (mild to severe), facies (typical or not) and other associated malformations (bone, cerebral, renal, cardiac and ophthalmological anomalies). Interpretation and classification of rare KMT2A variants can be challenging. A genome-wide DNA methylation episignature for KMT2A-related syndrome could allow functional classification of variants and provide insights into the pathoph…

research product

Characterization of 14 novel deletions underlying Rubinstein–Taybi syndrome: an update of the CREBBP deletion repertoire

Rubinstein–Taybi syndrome (RSTS) is a rare, clinically heterogeneous disorder characterized by cognitive impairment and several multiple congenital anomalies. The syndrome is caused by almost private point mutations in the CREBBP (~55 % of cases) and EP300 (~8 %) genes. The CREBBP mutational spectrum is variegated and characterized by point mutations (30–50 %) and deletions (~10 %). The latter are diverse in size and genomic position and remove either the whole CREBBP gene and its flanking regions or only an intragenic portion. Here, we report 14 novel CREBBP deletions ranging from single exons to the whole gene and flanking regions which were identified by applying complementary cytomolecu…

research product

Customised next-generation sequencing multigene panel to screen a large cohort of individuals with chromatin-related disorder

BackgroundThe regulation of the chromatin state by epigenetic mechanisms plays a central role in gene expression, cell function, and maintenance of cell identity. Hereditary disorders of chromatin regulation are a group of conditions caused by abnormalities of the various components of the epigenetic machinery, namely writers, erasers, readers, and chromatin remodelers. Although neurological dysfunction is almost ubiquitous in these disorders, the constellation of additional features characterizing many of these genes and the emerging clinical overlap among them indicate the existence of a community of syndromes. The introduction of high-throughput next generation sequencing (NGS) methods f…

research product

17β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase-3 deficiency: From pregnancy to adolescence

OBJECTIVE: Aim of this study is to report on basal clinical phenotype and follow up after diagnosis, of patients with 17beta-hydroxysteroid-dehydrogenase type 3 (17beta-HSD3) deficiency in Italy. SETTING: Pediatric Endocrine Departments, University Hospitals. PATIENTS: The cases of 5 Italian subjects affected by 17beta-HSD3 deficiency are presented in this study. INTERVENTIONS: Laboratory and genetic assessment. Gonadectomy and female sex assignment (4 patients) or GnRH analog therapy to regress puberty and gender identity disorder (1 patient). RESULTS: Presentation lasted from pregnancy (pre-natal diagnosis of a 46,XY fetus with female external genitalia) to infancy (inguinal hernia contai…

research product