Severe Neurological Phenotype in a Girl with Xp22.31 Triplication

Abstract

The Xp22.31 duplication is a copy number variant which is challenging to categorize as pathogenic or benign. There is an increasing number of patients with the duplication and a neurobehavioral phenotype, but the duplication is almost always inherited from a parent, who in some cases is phenotypically normal. Also, the duplication is detected in the general population, though in a smaller percentage than in clinically ascertained populations. The Xp22.31 triplication has only been identified in 3 individuals of a large cohort of developmental delay cases but never in the control cohorts or general population. We report a severely affected female with an Xp22.31 tetrasomy, inherited from duplications identified in both phenotypically normal parents. Although our study has limitations, it suggests that the Xp22.31 triplication seems to be more penetrant than the duplication and is associated with a neurological phenotype.