MEF2C-related 5q14.3 microdeletion syndrome detected by array CGH: A case report

Abstract

Genetic screening is being widely applied to trace the origin of global developmental delay or intellectual disability. The 5q14.3 microdeletion has recently been uncovered as a clinical syndrome presenting with severe intellectual disability, limited walking ability, febrile convulsions, absence of speech, and minor brain malformations. MEF2C was suggested as a gene mainly responsible for the 5q14.3 microdeletion syndrome. We present the case of a 6-year-old girl, who is the first patient in Korea with de novo interstitial microdeletions involving 5q14.3, showing the typical clinical features of 5q14.3 microdeletion syndrome with a smaller size of chromosomal involvement compared to the previous reports. The microdeletion was not detected by subtelomeric multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification, but by array comparative genomic hybridization, which is advisable for the detection of a small-sized genetic abnormality.