A jumping translocation (5p;15q), (8q;15q), and (12q;15q) (author's transl)]

Three balanced karyotypes (5p;15q), (8q;15q), and (12q;15q) were found simultaneously in a child with the Willi-Prader syndrome. The hypothesis is presented of a "jumping# translocation by affinity of telomeric and interstitial palindromes. The relationship between the Willi-Prader syndrome and a juxtacentric anomaly of the long arm of chromosome 15 is discussed.     

Partial trisomy 15q1

Summary A supernumerary extra chromosome of maternal origin, precisely described from QM- and C-banding patterns, was studied in a mentally defective boy with a severe convulsive disorder. This case is considered to represent a specific phenotype of trisomy 15q1. The suggestion that in cases of partial trisomy 15q different phenotypes are due to the second chromosome involved in interchange is supported by the observation of a tertiary trisomy in 2 sibs. It resulted from a balanced reciprocal translocation in the mother t(8q+15q-) and caused an unusual malformation syndrome (mental deficiency, cleft lip and palate, funnel chest, hypospadias).     

Distal trisomy 15q]

A patient with distal 15q trisomy resulting from malsegregation of a maternal t(13;15)(q33;q21.2) showed the following symptoms: micro-dolichocephaly, palpebral fissures slightly oriented downwards and outwards, a large nose, pronounced micrognathia, prominent authelices, ligamental abnormalities, osseous malformations evocative of diastrophic dwarfism, severe congenital heart defect, and profound encephalopathy. He died at five months of age. This observation is compared with two others from the literature.     

Quinacrine fluorescence patterns in somatic chromosomes of a t(15q15q) carrier

Summary A sporadic translocation between two homologues of chromosome 15 was identified, by means of the quinacrine mustard fluorescence technique, in a phenotypically normal female infant with ventricular septal defect. Familial studies revealed certain individual variations regarding the intensely fluorescent centromeric regions in chromosomes 3 and 13, which appeared to be transmitted from the parents to offspring.

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Zusammenfassung Eine sporadische Translokation zwischen zwei homologen Chromosomen Nr. 15 wurde mit Hilfe der Quinacrine-Mustard-Fluorescenztechnik bei einem weiblichen Säugling mit Ventrikelseptumdefekt festgestellt, der sonst phänotypisch normal war. Familienuntersuchungen ergaben gewisse individuelle Varianten der Zentromerregion in den Chromosomen 3 und 13, und es wurde eine Vererbung von den Eltern auf ihre Kinder festgestellt.Familienberatungen ergaben gewisse individuelle Variationen der intensiv fluorescierenden Zentromerregion.

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Contributions from the Chromosome Research Unit, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan. Supported by grants, No. 584099, and No. 92035, from the Scientific Research Fund of the Ministry of Education.     

Paracentric inversion of chromosome 15(q15q24): description of three families

Three unrelated families with paracentric inversion of chromosome 15(q15q24) are reported. An additional pericentric inversion of chromosome 9 with breakpoints in p11.2q13 was also observed in one of the three families. Reproductive problems, such as stillbirths, spontaneous abortions and two live-born children with multiple abnormalities, were present.     

Mosaic and non-mosaic trisomy 15q2

Two unrelated patients are presented. In the first mosaicism with normal cells and cells trisomic for the distal long arm (q2) of chromosome 15 was found. The 15q2 trisomy was due to a chromosome 14, to the long arm of which an extra 15q2 region was attached (14pter----14q32::15q22----15qter). In the second trisomy 15q2 was present as a consequence of a balanced t(7;15)(p22;q15) translocation in the mother.     

Splitting schizophrenia: periodic catatonia-susceptibility locus on chromosome 15q15

The nature of subtypes in schizophrenia and the meaning of heterogeneity in schizophrenia have been considered a principal controversy in psychiatric research. We addressed these issues in periodic catatonia, a clinical entity derived from Leonhard's classification of schizophrenias, in a genomewide linkage scan. Periodic catatonia is characterized by qualitative psychomotor disturbances during acute psychotic outbursts and by long-term outcome. On the basis of our previous findings of a lifetime morbidity risk of 26.9% of periodic catatonia in first-degree relatives, we conducted a genome scan in 12 multiplex pedigrees with 135 individuals, using 356 markers with an average spacing of 11 cM. In nonparametric multipoint linkage analyses (by GENEHUNTER-PLUS), significant evidence for linkage was obtained on chromosome 15q15 (P = 2.6 x 10(-5); nonparametric LOD score [LOD*] 3.57). A further locus on chromosome 22q13 with suggestive evidence for linkage (P = 1.8 x 10(-3); LOD* 1.85) was detected, which indicated genetic heterogeneity. Parametric linkage analysis under an autosomal dominant model (affecteds-only analysis) provided independent confirmation of nonparametric linkage results, with maximum LOD scores 2.75 (recombination fraction [theta].04; two-point analysis) and 2.89 (theta =.029; four-point analysis), at the chromosome 15q candidate region. Splitting the complex group of schizophrenias on the basis of clinical observation and genetic analysis, we identified periodic catatonia as a valid nosological entity. Our findings provide evidence that periodic catatonia is associated with a major disease locus, which maps to chromosome 15q15.     

Partial trisomy 15q due to maternal translocation t(7;15)(q35;14)]

Partial trisomy for the long arm of chromosome 15 was detected in a 21-year-old girl with severe growth and mental retardation. A balanced reciprocal translocation - t(7;15)(q35;q14) - is present in the mother.     

The fetal phenotype in 15q2 duplication

In this report we summarize the findings in a prenatally diagnosed male fetus with 15q2 trisomy. The craniofacial findings were identical to those in liveborn patients with this type of partial autosomal trisomy. A short review of the 15q2 trisomy syndrome is presented.     

Colorectal cancer linkage on chromosomes 4q21, 8q13, 12q24, and 15q22

A substantial proportion of familial colorectal cancer (CRC) is not a consequence of known susceptibility loci, such as mismatch repair (MMR) genes, supporting the existence of additional loci. To identify novel CRC loci, we conducted a genome-wide linkage scan in 356 white families with no evidence of defective MMR (i.e., no loss of tumor expression of MMR proteins, no microsatellite instability (MSI)-high tumors, or no evidence of linkage to MMR genes). Families were ascertained via the Colon Cancer Family Registry multi-site NCI-supported consortium (Colon CFR), the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Memorial University of Newfoundland. A total of 1,612 individuals (average 5.0 per family including 2.2 affected) were genotyped using genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism linkage arrays; parametric and non-parametric linkage analysis used MERLIN in a priori-defined family groups. Five lod scores greater than 3.0 were observed assuming heterogeneity. The greatest were among families with mean age of diagnosis less than 50 years at 4q21.1 (dominant HLOD?=?4.51, α?=?0.84, 145.40 cM, rs10518142) and among all families at 12q24.32 (dominant HLOD?=?3.60, α?=?0.48, 285.15 cM, rs952093). Among families with four or more affected individuals and among clinic-based families, a common peak was observed at 15q22.31 (101.40 cM, rs1477798; dominant HLOD?=?3.07, α?=?0.29; dominant HLOD?=?3.03, α?=?0.32, respectively). Analysis of families with only two affected individuals yielded a peak at 8q13.2 (recessive HLOD?=?3.02, α?=?0.51, 132.52 cM, rs1319036). These previously unreported linkage peaks demonstrate the continued utility of family-based data in complex traits and suggest that new CRC risk alleles remain to be elucidated.     

Angelman syndrome associated with an inversion of chromosome 15q11.2q24.3.

Angelman syndrome (AS) most frequently results from large (> or = 5 Mb) de novo deletions of chromosome 15q11-q13. The deletions are exclusively of maternal origin, and a few cases of paternal uniparental disomy of chromosome 15 have been reported. The latter finding indicates that AS is caused by the absence of a maternal contribution to the imprinted 15q11-q13 region. Failure to inherit a paternal 15q11-q13 contribution results in the clinically distinct disorder of Prader-Willi syndrome. Cases of AS resulting from translocations or pericentric inversions have been observed to be associated with deletions, and there have been no confirmed reports of balanced rearrangements in AS. We report the first such case involving a paracentric inversion with a breakpoint located approximately 25 kb proximal to the reference marker D15S10. This inversion has been inherited from a phenotypically normal mother. No deletion is evident by molecular analysis in this case, by use of cloned fragments mapped to within approximately 1 kb of the inversion breakpoint. Several hypotheses are discussed to explain the relationship between the inversion and the AS phenotype.     

Sperm rates of 7q11.23, 15q11q13 and 22q11.2 deletions and duplications: a FISH approach

Genomic disorders are human diseases caused by meiotic chromosomal rearrangements of unstable regions flanked by Low Copy Repeats (LCRs). LCRs act as substrates for Non-Allelic Homologous Recombination (NAHR) leading to deletions and duplications. The aim of this study was to assess the basal frequency of deletions and duplications of the 7q11.23, 15q11-q13 and 22q11.2 regions in spermatozoa from control donors to check differences in the susceptibility to generate anomalies and to assess the contribution of intra- and inter-chromatid NAHR events. Semen samples from ten control donors were processed by FISH. A customized combination of probes was used to discriminate among normal, deleted and duplicated sperm genotypes. A minimum of 10,000 sperm were assessed per sample and region. There were no differences in the mean frequency of deletions and duplications (del + dup) among the 7q11.23, 15q11-q13 and 22q11.2 regions (frequency ± SEM, 0.37 ± 0.02; 0.46 ± 0.07 and 0.27 ± 0.07%, respectively) (P = 0.122). Nevertheless, hierarchical cluster analysis reveals interindividual differences suggesting that particular haplotypes could be the main source of variability in NAHR rates. The mean frequency of deletions was not different from the mean frequency of duplications in the 7q11.23 (P = 0.202) and 15q11-q13 (P = 0.609) regions, indicating a predominant inter-chromatid NAHR. By contrast, in the 22q11.2 region the frequency of deletions slightly exceed duplications (P = 0.032), although at the individual level any donor showed differences. Altogether, our results support the inter-chromatid NAHR as the predominant mechanism involved in the generation of sperm deletions and duplications.     

Trisomy 15q23----qter due to a de novo t(11;15)(q25;q23) and assignment of the critical segment

A 10 10/12-year-old boy with a de novo t(11;15)(q25;q23) leading to trisomy 15q23----qter was studied. The clinical features were compatible with other cases of distal trisomy 15q. The critical segment for this trisomy is tentatively assigned to bands 15q25----qter.     

The gene for human erythrocyte protein 4.2 maps to chromosome 15q15.

Protein 4.2 (P4.2), one of the major components of the red-blood-cell membrane, is located on the interior surface, where it binds with high affinity to the cytoplasmic domain of band 3. Individuals whose red blood cells are deficient in P4.2 have osmotically fragile, abnormally shaped cells and moderate hemolytic anemia. cDNA clones from both the 5' and the 3' coding regions of the P4.2 gene were used to map its chromosomal location by fluorescence in situ hybridization. The probes, individually or in combination, gave specific hybridization signals on chromosome 15. The hybridization locus was identified by combining fluorescence images of the probe signals with fluorescence banding patterns generated by Alu-PCR (R-like) probe and by DAPI staining (G-like). Our results demonstrate that the locus of the P4.2 gene is located within 15q15.     

Angelman's syndrome and 15q11-q13 deletion

We discuss the results of cytogenetic reinvestigation in 10 patients with Angelman's syndrome reexamined during the last year. A deletion with 15q11-13 could be demonstrated in 6 of them, confirming that with the available cytogenetic techniques a 15q11-13 deletion is visible and detectable in at least half of the patients with this MCA/MR syndrome. On the other hand, the deletion could not be seen in two affected siblings. This indicates that de novo visible 15q11-13 deletions with low recurrence risk and autosomal recessively inherited cases combine to give an overall sib recurrence risk of less than 25%.     

Two familial cases with trisomy 15q dist due to a rcp(5;15)(p14;q21)

Summary A trisomy of the distal long arm of chromosome 15 (q21qter) resulting in similar phenotypic and developmental abnormalities in two related children (a boy and a girl) is described. The chromosome defect was due to malsegregation of a balanced translocation (5;15)(p14;q21) in one of the parents. It was inherited in four generations and accompanied by recurrent miscarriages. Comparison of these patients with four previously published cases of trisomy 15q dist reveals a pattern of common features including: microdolichocephaly with characteristic strikingly protuberant occiput and predominance of the visceral over the cerebral cranium; peculiar facial dysmorphism—narrow antimongoloid palpebral fissures; large, malformed, low-set ears; micrognathy; long philtrum; short neck; cardiopathy; profound encephalopathy with lack of suck and swallow reflexes; and no growth retardation.     

A locus for autosomal dominant colobomatous microphthalmia maps to chromosome 15q12-q15

Congenital microphthalmia is a common developmental ocular disorder characterized by shortened axial length. Isolated microphthalmia is clinically and genetically heterogeneous and may be inherited in an autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive, or X-linked manner. Here, we studied a five-generation family of Sephardic Jewish origin that included 38 members, of whom 7 have either unilateral or bilateral microphthalmia of variable severity inherited as an autosomal dominant trait with incomplete penetrance. After exclusion of several candidate loci, we performed a genome-scan study and demonstrated linkage to chromosome 15q12-q15. Positive LOD scores were obtained with a maximum at the D15S1007 locus (maximum LOD score 3.77, at recombination fraction 0.00). Haplotype analyses supported the location of the disease-causing gene in a 13.8-cM interval between loci D15S1002 and D15S1040.