It has been established that the Y chromosome carries genes required for spermatogenesis and male fertility. For many decades worldwide screening for gene identification has been conducted in research laboratories. However, it has been a difficult process in identifying such genes (i.e. causative mutations) which could explain the phenotypic variation and could be potentially used as markers fo...

Chromosomal abnormalities involving 2q32q33 deletions are very rare and present with a specific phenotype. This case report describes a 37-year-old female patient with 2q32q33 microdeletion syndrome presenting with the characteristic features, but with the addition of secondary cognitive decline. Molecular karyotyping was performed on the patient and her parents. It revealed an 8.6 megabase del...

We have analyzed several cases of Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS) with Wilms' tumor in a familial setting, which give insight into the complex controls of imprinting and gene expression in the chromosome 11p15 region. We describe a 2.2-kbp microdeletion in the H19/insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2)-imprinting center eliminating three target sites of the chromatin insulator protein CTCF that ...

OBJECTIVE To report the type and frequency of chromosomal anomalies and Y-microdeletions among Hong Kong Chinese subfertile men with sperm concentrations lower than 5 million/mL. DESIGN. Retrospective study. SETTING A reproductive centre in Hong Kong. PARTICIPANTS A total of 295 Chinese subfertile men who underwent both karyotyping and Y-microdeletion studies from 2000 to 2007 were categori...

BACKGROUND Deletions of the AZF (azoospermia factor) subregions on the Y chromosome are accompanied by a diverse spectrum of spermatogenic disturbances ranging from hypospermatogenesis to total depletion of germ cells causing infertility. The AZF region encodes gene products which are candidates for the genetic control of spermatogenesis. Although it is known which genes are involved, a general...

Dear Sir, Dr Chianese et al. (2013) expressed concerns about their results reported in ‘Y-chromosome microdeletions are not associated with SHOX haploinsufficiency’ and our earlier publication ‘Aberrations in pseudoautosomal regions (PARs) found in infertile men with Y-chromosome microdeletions’ (Jorgez et al., 2011). We wish to respond to several of their statements regarding our work in hopes...

15q11-13 chromosome region contains five breakpoints (BP1-BP5). Chromosomal rearrangements are common in this region. The microdeletion of BP1-BP2 region represents the 15q11.2 microdeletion syndrome associating with variable phenotype. We investigated a ten years old boy with hypotony. His motoric functions, speech and intellectual development were delayed. He suffered from epilepsy and showed...

OBJECTIVE To study a family with inner ear malformations and sensorineural hearing loss. DESIGN Clinical, radiological, and genetic study of the members of a family with different degrees of sensorineural hearing loss. RESULTS The males in the family manifested profound congenital hearing loss with severe inner ear malformations, while the only affected female had progressive hearing loss t...