Cleft Lip Palate in a Patient with 5q14.3 Deletion Syndrome: A Possible Unreported Feature?

Abstract

5q14.3 deletion syndrome (MIM#613443) is an uncommon but well-known syndrome characterized by intellectual disability, epilepsy, hypotonia, brain malformations, and facial dysmorphism. Most patients with this syndrome have lost one copy of the <i>MEF2C</i> gene (MIM*600662), whose haploinsufficiency is considered to be responsible for the distinctive phenotype. To date, nearly 40 cases have been reported; the deletion size and clinical spectrum are variable, and at least 6 cases without <i>MEF2C</i> involvement have been documented. We herein report the clinical and cytogenomic findings of an 11-year-old girl who has a 5q14.3q21.1 de novo deletion that does not involve <i>MEF2C</i> but shares the clinical features described in other reported patients. Moreover, she additionally presents with bilateral cleft-lip palate (CLP), which has not been previously reported as a feature of the syndrome. The most frequent syndromic forms of CLP were ruled out in our patient mainly by clinical examination, and Sanger sequencing was performed to discard the presence of a <i>TBX22</i> gene (MIM*300307) defect. Our report suggests CLP as a possible unreported feature and redefines the critical phenotypic regions of 5q14.3 deletion syndrome.