USP9X

Mental Retardation, X-Linked 99, Syndromic, Female-Restricted

Clinical Characteristics
Ocular Features: 

Palpebral fissures are generally shortened and may slant up or down.  Cataracts of unknown morphology have been reported and strabismus is common.

Systemic Features: 

The systemic phenotype is highly variable.  Skull and facial anomalies are common with brachycephaly, bitemporal narrowing, and a broad low nasal bridge. There is general developmental delay in both motor and cognitive abilities.  Patients are short in stature while scoliosis, hip dysplasia, and post-axial polydactyly may be present.  The teeth may be malformed and numerous (29%) of individuals have hypertrichosis.  Nearly a third of individuals have a cleft palate/bifid uvula.   Heart malformations, primarily atrial septal defects, are found in about half of affected individuals and urogenital anomalies such as renal dysplasia are relatively common.  Feeding difficulties have been reported while anal atresia is present in about half of patients.   

Brain imaging reveals hypoplasia of the corpus callosum, enlarged ventricles, Dandy-Walker malformations, cerebellar hypoplasia, and abnormal gyration patterns in the frontal lobe.  Generalized hypotonia has been diagnosed in half of reported patients and seizures occur in 24%.

Genetics

This female-restricted syndrome is caused by heterozygous mutations in the USP9X gene (Xp11.4).  X-chromosome inactivation is skewed greater than 90% in the majority of females but the degree of skewing in one study was independent of clinical severity.  The majority of cases occur de novo.

In males, hemizygous mutations in the USP9X gene (300919) cause a somewhat similar disorder (MRX99) without the majority of the congenital malformations having mainly the intellectual disabilities, hypotonia, and behavioral problems.

Pedigree: 
X-linked dominant, mother affected
Treatment
Treatment Options: 

There is no known treatment for the general disorder but individual anomalies or defects such as atrial septal defects, cleft palate, and anal atresia might be surgically corrected.

References
Article Title: 

De Novo Loss-of-Function Mutations in USP9X Cause a Female-Specific Recognizable Syndrome with Developmental Delay and Congenital Malformations

Reijnders MR, Zachariadis V, Latour B, Jolly L, Mancini GM, Pfundt R, Wu KM, van Ravenswaaij-Arts CM, Veenstra-Knol HE, Anderlid BM, Wood SA, Cheung SW, Barnicoat A, Probst F, Magoulas P, Brooks AS, Malmgren H, Harila-Saari A, Marcelis CM, Vreeburg M, Hobson E, Sutton VR, Stark Z, Vogt J, Cooper N, Lim JY, Price S, Lai AH, Domingo D, Reversade B; DDD Study, Gecz J, Gilissen C, Brunner HG, Kini U, Roepman R, Nordgren A, Kleefstra T. De Novo Loss-of-Function Mutations in USP9X Cause a Female-Specific Recognizable Syndrome with Developmental Delay and Congenital Malformations. Am J Hum Genet. 2016 Feb 4;98(2):373-81.

PubMed ID: 
26833328
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