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Cleft lip or palate and lower lip pits are typical features of the autosomal dominantly inherited Van der Woude syndrome. Limb defects have not been reported in this syndrome so far. A girl with a unilateral complete cleft lip and palate, bilateral lower lip pits, and amniotic deformities of all four limbs is reported and the possibility of chance occurrence of cleft lip and palate, lower lip pits, and limb defects is discussed.

A kindred segregating for Van der Woude syndrome (VWS) through five generations is described. Biochemical and serological phenotypes at 36 polymorphic marker loci have been determined, of which 27 were informative for linkage analysis to the VWS gene (LIPED 3 computer programme). Lod scores are reported and show exclusion of close linkage for most of the marker loci. Only VWS:Duffy (Fy) resulted in uniformly positive lod scores (theta = 0.0, z(theta) = 1.31).

The literature on tooth formation in children with cleft lip and/or palate is reviewed. The main focus of interest is the association of cleft type and dental abnormalities in number, size, shape, timing of formation, and eruption and cause of the abnormalities. The upper lateral incisor is the most susceptible to injury in the area of cleft in both deciduous and permanent dentitions. This tooth is affected in most instances, even in the cases of microforms of the cleft lip. The prevalence of hypodontia increases strongly with the severity of cleft. More teeth are congenitally missing from the upper jaw than from the lower jaw; however, in the permanent dentition both jaws are affected. Very high prevalence of hypodontia are observed in connection with the Van der Woude syndrome associated with cleft and with the Pierre Robin anomaly. Hypodontia is similarly prevalent in subjects with isolated cleft palate with and without a positive family history of clefts. The prevalence of hypodontia varies largely in different populations. Asymmetric formation of the contralateral teeth is a milder form of hypodontia. The prevalence of asymmetrically developing pairs of teeth is far more common in children with clefts than in children with normal palates or lips. In the permanent dentition the timing of tooth formation is delayed in children from all cleft groups compared to noncleft children. The delay lengthens (with increasing severity of cleft) from 0.3 to 0.7 years and is similar in all permanent teeth in both jaws. In children with hypodontia, the delay is still more severe. As the child becomes older, the delay may increase.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

A patient with an interstitial deletion of chromosome 1q[del(1q32----41)] was found to have, among other anomalies, congenital lower-lip pits. Lip pits are rare and are found mainly in association with the van der Woude syndrome and the popliteal pterygium syndrome; we cannot find a report of their association with a chromosome anomaly. To our knowledge, interstitial deletion of the segment 1q32----41 has not been reported. This observation raises the possibility that the van der Woude syndrome may be due to a submicroscopic deletion of chromosome 1q.

A newly ascertained kindred segregating Van der Woude syndrome through four generations is described. Linkage studies using the methods of Ott (1974) were carried out using 19 marker loci.

The numerous hypotheses advanced to explain the pathogenesis of lip sinuses have been reviewed by Warbrick et al. (1952) who suggested that the sinuses are remnants of the lateral sulci of the lower lip at the 6.5512.6mm embryonal stage (32-40 days). This theory is now generally accepted by such authorities as Gorlin et ul. (1976) and Wang and Macomber (1977). The sinuses usually appear together with or in families who present with various types of clefts. This distinct clinical syndrome is thought to be transmitted through an autosomal dominant gene with an estimated penetrance of 800,” and variable expressivity (Cervenka et al., 1967). Lip sinuses have also been described in the popliteal pterygium syndrome (Rintala and Lahti, 1970b) and occasionally with other malformations such as Hirschprung’s disease (Schwartz et aI., 1979). Over 500 cases have been reported in the literature and the incidence of the syndrome has been estimated as 1: 100,000 in the general white population (Cervenka et al., 1967) and as 0.9 (j,,, in patients who have cleft lip and/or cleft palate (Rintala and Lahti, 1970a). The typical sinuses are bilateral symmetrically placed openings on the upper border of the lower lip which extend as canals lined by labial mucosa and surrounded by mucous glands towards the labio-gingival sulcus for a varying distance of 1 to 25mm. The canals always end as blind sacs. Sometimes there may be only conical elevations and/or surface openings without any deeper sinuses at the typical sites. presumably representing microforms of the syndrome and very rarely unilateral or median sinuses may be encountered. Some of the latter are bipartite in their deeper parts (Rintala and Lahti, 1973) and in some it is difficult to decide whether they are truly median or paramedian. Their location may also vary in an anterio-posterior direction from the vermilion border to the mucosal side of the lip.

Congenital lower lip pits are a rare developmental malformation of the lower lip. Clinically they present as bilateral depressions in the vermilion zone of the lower lip. It is important to be aware of this disorder because lower lip pits have also been reported in a variety of other congenital disorders and are associated with other malformations. Ten cases of this entity are presented. Nine of the 10 patients are members of two related families. The clinical and pathologic picture as well as some of the genetic and therapeutic aspects of this peculiar condition are discussed.

Van der Woude syndrome (VWS) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by clefts of the lip and/or palate (CL+/-P), lip pits, bifid uvula and hypodontia. Mutations of the interferon regulatory factor 6 gene (IRF6) have been recently described in patients with VWS. The entire 9 exons of the IRF6 gene in two brothers of Turkish origin clinically diagnosed with Van der Woude syndrome and four healthy family members were screened for mutations using a newly established denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) method. A novel heterozygous mutation in exon 2 (DNA binding region) of the IRF6 gene, p.Arg84Gly, was found in both brothers with VWS and in their clinically asymptomatic mother. Our results suggest a dominant negative effect of the p.Arg84Gly mutation in the VWS of both patients. Non-penetrance of this mutation is suggested in the mother of the patients.

Van der Woude syndrome (VWS) is a genetic syndrome that leads to typical phenotypic traits, including lower lip pits and cleft lip/palate (CLP). The majority of VWS-affected patients harbor a pathogenic variant in the gene encoding for the transcription factor interferon regulatory factor 6 (IRF6), a crucial regulator of orofacial development, epidermal differentiation and tissue repair. However, most of the underlying mechanisms leading from pathogenic IRF6 gene variants to phenotypes observed in VWS remain poorly understood and elusive. The availability of one VWS individual within our cohort of CLP patients allowed us to identify a novel VWS-causing IRF6 variant and to functionally characterize it. Using VWS patient-derived keratinocytes, we reveal that most of the mutated IRF6_VWS transcripts are subject to a non-sense-mediated mRNA decay mechanism, resulting in IRF6 haploinsufficiency. While moderate levels of IRF6_VWS remain detectable in the VWS keratinocytes, our data illustrate that the IRF6_VWS protein, which lacks part of its protein-binding domain and its whole C-terminus, is noticeably less stable than its wild-type counterpart. Still, it maintains transcription factor function. As we report and characterize a so far undescribed VWS-causing IRF6 variant, our results shed light on the physiological as well as pathological role of IRF6 in keratinocytes. This acquired knowledge is essential for a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms leading to VWS and CLP.

Background Van der Woude syndrome (MIM: 119300, VWS) is a dominantly inherited and the most common orofacial clefting syndrome; it accounts for ~2 % of all cleft lip and palate cases. Intellectual disability (ID) is characterized by significant limitations, both in intellectual functioning (cognitive deficit) and in adaptive behavior as expressed in conceptual, social and practical adaptive skills. Karyotyping has been the first standard test for the detection of genetic imbalance in patients with ID for more than 35 years. Advances in genetic diagnosis have laid chromosomal microarrays (CMA) as a new standard and first first-line test for diagnosis of patients with ID, as well as other conditions, such as autism spectrum disorders or multiple congenital anomalies. Case Presentation The present case was initially studied due to unexplained cognitive deficit. Physical examination at the age of 18 years revealed cleft palate, lower lip pits and hypodontia, accompanied with other dysmorphic features and absence of speech. Brain MRI uncovered significantly reduced overall volume of gray matter and cortical gyrification. Banding cytogenetics revealed an indistinct intrachromosomal rearrangement in the long arm of one chromosome 1, and subsequent microarray analyses identified a 5.56 Mb deletion in 1q32.1-1q32.3, encompassing 52 genes; included were the entire IRF6 gene (whose mutations/deletions underlay VWS) and SRGAP2, a gene with an important role in neuronal migration during development of cerebral cortex. Besides, a duplication in 3q26.32 (1.9 Mb in size) comprising TBL1XR1 gene was identified. Multicolor banding for chromosome 1 and molecular cytogenetics applying a battery of locus-specific probes covering 1q32.1 to 1q44 characterized a four breakpoint-insertional-rearrangement-event, resulting in 1q32.1-1q32.3 deletion. Conclusions Considering that the human-specific three-fold segmental duplication of SRGAP2 gene evolutionary corresponds to the beginning of neocortical expansion, we hypothesize that aberrations in SRGAP2 are strong candidates underlying specific brain abnormalities, namely reduced volume of grey matter and reduced gyrification. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13039-016-0221-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Cleft lip or palate and lower lip pits are typical features of the autosomal dominantly inherited Van der Woude syndrome. Limb defects have not been reported in this syndrome so far. A girl with a unilateral complete cleft lip and palate, bilateral lower lip pits, and amniotic deformities of all four limbs is reported and the possibility of chance occurrence of cleft lip and palate, lower lip pits, and limb defects is discussed.

Background Van der Woude syndrome is the most common among syndromes which include cleft lip and/or cleft palate as one of the presentations. It is usually caused by mutations in the interferon regulatory factor 6 (IRF6) gene. Case presentation We previously reported on a patient with suspected deletion of the IRF6 gene. Using the Affymetrix Human SNP 6.0 Array, the interstitial deletion has been confirmed and found to be approximately 2.327–2.334 Mb within the 1q32.2 region. Although several known genes were deleted, the patient has no other phenotype apart from the orofacial presentations typical of VWS. The same deletion was not present in either parent and his two siblings were also phenotypically normal. Conclusions Other than IRF6, the genes which are deleted in this patient appear to be insensitive to copy number and haploinsufficiency. We compared the deletion in this patient with another case which was also mapped by high resolution array but had additional phenotypic features.