Overgrowth Syndrome

Large offspring syndrome (LOS) is a fetal overgrowth condition in bovines most often observed in offspring conceived with the use of assisted reproductive technologies (ART). Phenotypes observed in LOS include, overgrowth, enlarged tongues, umbilical hernias, muscle and skeleton malformations, abnormal organ growth and placental development. Although LOS cases have only been reported to be associated with ART, fetal overgrowth can occur spontaneously in cattle (S-LOS). S-LOS refers to oversized calves that are born at normal gestation lengths. ART-induced LOS has been characterized as an epigenetic syndrome, more specifically, a loss-of-imprinting condition. We propose that S-LOS is also a loss-of-imprinting condition.