Inv dup del(4) (:p14→p16.3::p16.3→qter) with manifestations of partial duplication 4p and Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome

An 8-year-old girl with a combination of clinical manifestations of partial duplication 4p and the Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome was studied. Chromosomal G-banding and FISH analyses showed a 33.2-Mb segment of inverted duplication at 4p14-p16.3 and a 2.8-Mb segment of deletion at 4p16.3pter (including the Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome critical region). The chromosomes of the parents were normal. Her karyotype was thus 46,XX, inv dup del(4)(:p14 --> p16.3:: p16.3 --> qter) de novo. The inverted duplication deletion was assumed to have arisen through chromatid breakage at 4p16.3, U-type reunion at the breakpoints to produce a dicentric intermediate, breakage of the dicentric to result in a monocentric, and telomere capture/healing of the broken end. Olfactory receptor gene clusters at 4p16.3 were ruled out as an intermediary of the duplication deletion process. (C) 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.