Identification of novel compound heterozygous RECQL4 mutations and prenatal diagnosis of Baller-Gerold syndrome: a case report

Birth defects are structural and/or functional malformations present at birth that cause physical or mental disability and are important public health problems. Our study was aimed at genetic analysis and prenatal diagnosis of congenital anomalies to understand the cause of certain birth defects. Karyotypes and array-comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) were performed on a pregnant woman, surrounding amniotic fluid, and her husband. A short-stature panel genetic test was conducted in accordance with the phenotype of the fetus. Following examination, it was determined that the karyotype and aCGH results were normal. The RECQL4 gene in the fetus showed compound heterozygous mutations, and each parent was found to be a carrier of one of the mutations. The two heterozygous mutations (c.2059-1G>C and c.2141_2142delAG) were detected in the RECQL4 (NM_004260) gene in the fetus; therefore, the fetus was predicted to have Baller-Gerold syndrome. These two mutations have not previously been reported. In addition, these results identified a 25% risk of the parents having a sec-ond conceptus with this congenital disease. Therefore, prenatal genetic diagnosis was highly recommended for future pregnancies.