Clinical phenotype and genetic analysis of MECP2 duplication syndrome

Abstract

To analyze the clinical symptom and parental origin of patients with MECP2 duplication syndrome in order to provide a basis for genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis. Clinical symptoms of four patients who were diagnosed with MECP2 duplication syndrome by copy number variation sequencing (CNV-Seq) were reviewed. The maternal origin of the duplications were verified. All patients were males, and CNV-Seq revealed that they have all harbored a duplication in the Xq28 region spanning 0.32 ~ 0.86 Mb, which were derived from asymptomatic mothers. The clinical symptoms of three patients with three copies included delayed speech, intellectual disability, and muscular hypotonia, while the patient with four copies had died at 6 months after birth, with clinical symptoms including recurrent infections, seizures, and spasticity. The four cases of MECP2 duplication syndrome have shown complete penetrance and have all derived from asymptomatic mothers. As a stable and reliable method, CNV-Seq can accurately detect the MECP2 duplication syndrome.