Microduplication of the ICR2 domain at chromosome 11p15 and familial Silver–Russell syndrome

Silver-Russell syndrome (SRS) is characterized by severe intrauterine and postnatal growth retardation in association with a typical small triangular face and other variable features. Genetic and epigenetic disturbances are detected in about 50% of the patients. Most frequently, SRS is caused by altered gene expression on chromosome 11p15 due to hypomethylation of the telomeric imprinting center (ICR1) that is present in at least 40% of the patients. Maternally inherited duplications encompassing ICR1 and ICR2 domains at 11p15 were found in a few patients, and a microduplication restricted to ICR2 was described in a single SRS child. We report on a microduplication of the ICR2 domain encompassing the KCNQ1, KCNQ1OT1, and CDKN1C genes in a three-generation family: there were four instances of paternal transmissions of the microduplication from a single male uniformly resulting in normal offspring, and five maternal transmissions, via two clinically normal sisters, with all the children exhibiting SRS. This report provides confirmatory evidence that a microduplication restricted to the ICR2 domain results in SRS when maternally transmitted.