NF1 frameshift mutation (C.6520_6523delGAGA) association with nervous system tumors and bone abnormalities in a Chinese patient with neurofibromatosis type 1

Abstract

Neurofibromatosis type 1, also known as NF1 or von Recklinghausen’s disease, is a common neurocutaneous syndrome that presents with multiple café-au-lait patches, skinfold freckling, dermatofibromas, neurofibromas, and Lisch nodules. The mutations of the gene NF1, encoding the protein neurofibromin, have been identified as the cause of this disease. Here, we report a clinical and molecular study of a Chinese patient with multiple café-au-lait skin freckles, dermatofibroma, central and peripheral nervous system tumors, and bone abnormalities attributed to NF1. The patient showed >6 café-au-lait spots on the body and multiple dermatofibromas. A brain glioma and multiple nerve sheath tumors inside and outside the vertebral canal were identified by magnetic resonance imaging, which also showed multiple intercostal nerve schwannomas and hydrocephalies above the cerebellar tentorium. Talipes equinus was also apparent. A mutation analysis of the NF1 gene revealed a novel frameshift mutation in exon 43, consisting of a heterozygous deletion of four nucleotides (GAGA) between positions 6520 and 6523. No NF1 mutations were detected in the patient’s parents or younger brother. These results extend the list of known mutations in this gene. The absence of the NF1 mutation in the healthy family members suggests that it is responsible for the NF1 phenotype. To our knowledge, this frameshift mutation represents a novel NF1 case, and may be associated with nervous system tumors and bone abnormalities.