DNA fingerprinting: the utilization of minisatellite probes to detect a somatic mutation in the proteus syndrome

Syndromes with localized or segmental abnormalities have been proposed to be the result of a somatic mutation leading to the presence of somatic mosaicism in the tissue. The Proteus syndrome, with its hemihypertrophy, macrodactyly and exostoses, has features which would indicate that the phenotype results from such events. The success of utilizing DNA fingerprint probes to detect somatic mutations in cancer raised the possibility that a similar approach might be successful in an investigation of two patients with the Proteus syndrome. Single band differences were detected with the probe 33.6 in a pair of monozygotic twins discordant for Proteus and in a comparison of tissue from normal and affected areas in another patient. These findings would appear to confirm the hypothesis that the Proteus syndrome results from a somatic mutation. Furthermore, the results indicate that DNA fingerprinting may offer a valuable technique for identifying probes for investigations of similar syndromes.