Partial trisomy 3q syndrome inherited from familial t(3;9)(q26.1; p23)

A five-year-old girl was referred to prometaphase chromosome analysis because of mental retardation, facial dysmorphic features suggestive of Cornelia de Lange syndrome, cleft palate and additional minor congenital malformations of the cardiac system and fingers and toes. A familial balanced translocation (3;9)(q26.1; p23) was found. The karyotype of the proposita was 46,XX,der(9),t(3;9)(q26.1;p23). Thus the patient was trisomic for 3q26.1-qter and monosomic for 9p23-pter. The unbalanced chromosome constitution was not detected by standard Q-banding analysis shortly after birth. The karyotype was misdiagnosed as 46,XX,9(p+) in the proposita and her mother, and thought to be a normal variant of chromosome 9. The repeated cytogenetic study led to the diagnosis of the translocation and to the possibility of prenatal diagnosis in the translocation carriers. A survey of 22 published cases of dup(3q) showed that nearly 60% were secondary to familial balanced rearrangements with an excess of maternally derived abnormal chromosomes 3. Red blood cell galactose-1-phosphate-uridyltransferase (GALT) activity was normal in the patient, consistent with previous assignment of the gene locus for GALT to 9p13 (Shih et al. 1982).