The influence of the <i>TBX6</i> gene on the development of congenital spinal deformities in children

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Congenital deformities of the spine are a group of serious congenital defects of the vertebrae, which can manifest themselves in the clinical picture as an isolated pathology of the axial musculoskeletal system, and are associated with congenital defects of internal organs and other systems. Recently, the TBX6 gene has been identified as the genetic cause of congenital scoliosis in about 11% of cases. This subtype of scoliosis is classified as TBX6-associated congenital scoliosis. The TBX6-associated congenital scoliosis phenotype is characterized by butterfly-shaped vertebrae and hemivertebrae in the lower thoracic and lumbar regions without pronounced malformations of the spinal cord.
 AIM: Our aim is to study and evaluate data from foreign and domestic scientific publications devoted to the study of the candidate gene for congenital scoliosis TBX6.
 MATERIALS AND METHODS: The following databases of scientific publications such as PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, SCOPUS, MEDLINE, e-Library, Cyberleninka were used to write this review. The inclusion criteria were systematic reviews, meta-analyses, multicenter studies, controlled cohort studies, uncontrolled cohort studies of patients with congenital spinal deformities. The exclusion criteria were clinical cases, observations, conference proceedings, congenital scoliosis in genetic syndromes, congenital scoliosis associated with defects of the nervous system.
 RESULTS: In order to achieve this goal, 70 scientific publications were studied relating to the data analysis of the candidate gene for congenital scoliosis TBX6. Among 49 publications that were identified, 2 were domestics, and the rest were foreign publications. These studies provided information on the molecular analysis of genes that cause congenital spinal deformities in humans and animals.
 CONCLUSIONS: An analysis of the published research work on this topic indicates the presence of a significant effect of mutations in the TBX6 gene, leading to the appearance of congenital scoliosis.
 Advances in elucidating the genetic contribution to the development of congenital spinal deformities and the molecular etiology of clinical phenotypes may uncover the opportunities for further refinement of the classification of signs of congenital scoliosis in accordance with the underlying genetic etiology.