Gonadal Mosaicism as a Rare Inheritance Pattern in Recessive Genodermatoses: Report of Two Cases with Pseudoxanthoma Elasticum and Literature Review

Abstract

Germline mosaicism in autosomal recessive disorders is considered a rare disease mechanism with important consequences for diagnosis and patient counseling. In this report, we present two families with PXE in which paternal germline mosaicism for an ABCC6 whole-gene deletion was observed. The first family further illustrates the clinical challenges in PXE, with a typical PXE retinopathy in an apparently heterozygous carrier parent. A systematic review of the literature on gonadal mosaicism in autosomal recessive genodermatoses revealed 16 additional patients. As in most reported families, segregation analysis data are not mentioned, and this may still be an underrepresentation. Though rare, the possibility of germline mosaicism emphasizes the need for variant verification in parents and sibs of a newly diagnosed proband, as it has significant implications for genetic counseling and management.