Microdeletion syndromes
Gemma L Carvill1, Heather C Mefford
1Division of Genetic Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
Abstract:
The recent explosion in the implementation of genome-wide microarray technology to discover rare, pathogenic genomic rearrangements in a variety of diseases has led to the discovery of numerous microdeletion syndromes. It is now clear that these microdeletions are associated with extensive phenotypic heterogeneity and incomplete penetrance. A subset of recurrent microdeletions underpin diverse phenotypes, including intellectual disability, autism, epilepsy and neuropsychiatric disorders. Recent studies highlight a role for additional low frequency variants, or 'second hits' to account for this variability. The implementation of massively parallel sequencing and epigenetic models may provide a powerful prospective approach to the delineation of microdeletion syndrome phenotypes.
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