Subtelomeric rearrangements as neutral genomic polymorphisms

Submicroscopic chromosomal rearrangements affecting telomeres are important aetiological contributors to the development of mental retardation. Results from over 2,500 analysed patients with mental retardation demonstrated that about 5% have a subtelomeric aberration. However, some subtelomeric rearrangements have no phenotypic consequences. Due to the heterogeneity of such rearrangements and to the limited information about which monosomy or trisomy can be tolerated without phenotypic effect, conclusions about the association of a specific aberration and the phenotypical consequences are often hard to draw. We performed a study of subtelomeric aberrations with the aim to provide more insights into the understanding of such rearrangements as neutral genomic polymorphisms. We found two new polymorphisms: a duplication or triplication of the subtelomeric region of the long arm of chromosome 4 and a trisomy of the subtelomeric region of the short arm of chromosome 6 owing to a transposition to chromosome 22. These new data are presented and discussed in the context of the published literature. (C) 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.