European Human Genetics Conference 2013, Paris, Fransa, 8 - 11 Haziran 2013, cilt.21, sa.1, ss.98
Congenital facial paralysis (CFP) and Moebius syndrome (MBS; MIM
157900) are highly sporadic, formulating classical gene identiication algorithms
dificult, assigning candidate gene approach compatible. Mutant
mice for Hoxb1 were long before reported to present features of facial nerve
defects, resembling MBS, only very recently associated with human phenotype.
Currently, homozygous c.619C>T in HOXB1 revealed in the two CFP
affected individuals from two different families, both from the same geographic
origin, altering arginine to cysteine at 207 (p.arg207cys) corresponds
arg5 residue of the HOXB1 homeodomain.
We have screened our cohort of 33 sporadic MBS and CFP patients for mutation
on HOXB1 and identiied homozygous c.620G>A in one consanguineous
family. Alteration changes the same neutral-polar arginine, via second nucleotide,
resulting to basic-polar histidine (p.arg207his). Clinical investigation
of our case presented left esotropia, right lattened/broad nasal bridge,
external ear defects, high arched palate, bilateral cranial nerve VII dysfunction,
diagnosed as CFP. We further screened HOXB1 in 56 DNA samples of
MBS cases, referred to us from Radbound University Nijmegen-Holland,
none found to carry any pathological alteration. It is surprising that, such a
rare disorder with three only identiied mutation striking the same conserved
amino acid, delegating arg5 the achilles of HOXB1 protein. Up to date,
out of 267 families with MBS or with the facial weakness, component of
MBS (177 from Webb et al.2012, 56 from Nijmegan group and 34 from our
center), only three reported to carry mutations in HOXB1 gene, iguring the
prevalence of HOXB1 mutation frequency to be 1.12%.