Genetics (Part III) Flashcards
What is euploid?
any exact multiple of the haploid number of chromosomes (23)
What is aneuploidy?
if an error occurs in meiosis or mitosis and a cell acquires a chromosome complement that is not the exact multiple of 23
what are the 2 usual causes of aneuploidy?
nondisjunction and anaphase lag
what happens during nondisjunction?
during gametogenesis, the gametes formed either have an extra chromosome or one less chromosome
what happens during anaphase lag?
one homologous chromosome in meiosis or one chromatid in mitosis lags behind and is left out of the cell nucleus; the result is one normal cell with monosomy
what is mosaicism?
mitotic errors in early development give rise to two or more populations of cells with different chromosomal complement
what are ring chromosomes?
when a break occurs at both ends of a chromosome with fusion of the damaged ends
what is an example of a ring chromosome?
46 XY,r(14)
what is inversion of chromosomes?
rearrangement that involves 2 breaks within a single chromosome with reincorporation of that inverted intervening segment
what are the two different types of inversion of chromosomes can you have?
pericentric and paracentric
what is pericentric inversion?
when the breaks are on opposite sides of the centromere
what is paracentric inversion?
inversion involving only one arm of the chromosome
what are isochromosomes?
when one arm of a chromosome is lost, the remaining arm is duplicated–> results in a chromosome that contains 2 short arms only or 2 long arms only
What is translocation?
when a segment of one chromosome is transferred to another chromosome
What are the two different types of translocations?
balanced reciprocal and robertsonian/centric fusion
what are robertsonian translocations?
translocation between 2 acrocentric chromosomes
where do the breaks in the chromosomes typically occur with robertsonian translocations?
closer to the centromeres of each chromosome
what is the result of a robertsonian translocation?
transfer of segments–> 1 very large chromosome and 1 extremely small one; the small one typically is lost
what is the association with robertsonian translocations and trisomy 21?
approximately 3-4% of trisomy 21 cases are caused by robertsonian translocation, in which the q arm of chromosome 21 is translocated onto another chromosome
what is the result of the robertsonian translocation of chromosome 21?
the fetus has 46 chromosomes but 3 copies of the long arm of chromosome 21
What are the typical features of trisomy 21 patients?
typical facies with epicanthal folds and slanted palpebral fissures; single palmer crease
what is the most common chromosomal disorder?
down syndrome
what is the most common cause of trisomy 21?
meiotic nondisjunction; parents have a normal karyotype
in 4% of cases with down syndrome, robertsonian translocations occurred. What is found with these cells?
the genetic material normally found on long arms of two pairs of chromosomes is distributed among only 3 chromosomes
What is the main associated risk with trisomy 21 patients?
40% of trisomy 21 patients have congenital heart disease
what is the most common congenital heart disease seen with trisomy 21 patients?
atrioventricular septal defects (AVSD)
what follows AVSD in the line of congenital heart disease associated with trisomy 21?
VSD, then ASD, then tetralogy of fallot
What is responsible for the majority of the deaths in infancy and early childhood in patients with trisomy 21?
the cardiac abnormalities
What are trisomy 21 patients at increased risk of developing?
acute leukemia
trisomy 21 patients have a 20x increased risk of developing what leukemia?
acute B lymphoblastic leukemia
trisomy 21 patients have a 500x increased risk of developing what leukemia?
acute myeloid leukemia (usually acute megakaryoblastic leukemia)
what leukemia is very uncommon and almost always associated with trisomy 21?
megakaryoblastic leukemia
virtually all patients with trisomy 21 who are >40 years old will develop what?
neuropathologic changes characteristic of Alzheimer disease
abnormal immune responses predispose trisomy 21 patients to serious infections particularly of what organs?
the lungs and to thyroid autoimmunity
progress in unraveling the molecular basis of down syndrome has been quite slow due to what?
1) down syndrome results from gene dosage imbalance rather than the action of a few genes 2) majority of the protein coding genes of chromosome 21 are overexpressed 3) the genes overexpressed in down syndrome are directly involved in regulation of mitochondrial function 4) chromosome 21 has the highest density of noncoding RNAs
how can we perform an non-invasive screening test for prenatal diagnosis of trisomy 21?
because 5-10% of the total cell free DNA in maternal blood is from the fetus and we can test by polymorphic genetic markers
what is one of the main protein coding genes of chromosome 21 that is overexpressed in down syndrome?
amyloid-beta precursor protein (APP)
what is the significance of amyloid-beta precursor protein aggregates?
aggregation of amyloid beta proteins is critical in the development of Alzheimer disease
What is trisomy 13?
Patau syndrome
what is trisomy 18?
Edwards syndrome
What is unique to patau syndrome?
microcephaly, cleft lip and palate, small eyes
which trisomies have rocker bottom feet?
Edwards syndrome and Patau syndrome
which trisomy has over lapping fingers?
Edwards syndrome
which trisomy has polydactyly?
Patau syndrome
which trisomies have umbilical hernias?
down syndrome and patau syndrome
which trisomy has renal defects?
patau syndrome
which trisomy has renal malformations such as horseshoe kidney?
edwards syndrome
what do all of the trisomies have in common?
all have problems with congenital heart defects and all have intellectual disabilities
why is chromosome 22q.11.2 deletion syndrome usually missed?
because there are variable clinical features
what are some of the features you might see in chromosome 22q.11.2 deletion syndrome?
congenital heart defects, abnormalities of the palate, facial dysmorphism, developmental delay, and variable degrees of T-cell immunodeficiency and hypocalcemia; there is also a high risk of psychotic illnesses
patients with DiGeorge syndrome have what symptoms?
thymic hypoplasia with resultant T cell immunodeficiency, parathyroid hypoplasia, which leads to hypocalcemia, cardiac malformations, and mild facial anomalies
what are the clinical features of velocardiofacial syndrome?
facial dysmorphism, cleft palate, cardiovascular anomalies, and learning disabilities
what syndromes are associated with chromosome 22q.11.2 deletion syndrome?
DiGeorge syndrome and Velocardiofacial syndrome
what are the facial abnormalities seen in Velocardiofacial syndrome?
long face, narrow palpebral fissures, puffy lids, over-folded helix, nose is pear-shaped
Imbalances (excess or loss) of sex chromosomes are much better tolerated than are similar imbalances of autosomes. Why?
1) lyonization of all but one X chromosome 2) the modest amount of genetic material carried by the Y chromosome