Molecular genetic evidence for the delineation of a more severe form of familial adenomatous polyposis which results from fresh mutation

Frequency and parental origin of de novo APC mutations in familial adenomatous polyposis

A predominance of de novo mutations in the paternal germ line has been reported for several disorders; however, in familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), the parental origin of APC mutations has been scarcely analysed so far. Among 563 unrelated FAP families with known family history, we identified 58 patients with a suspected de novo mutation in the APC gene. A germline mutation was detected in 52 of them; in 38 patients, the mutation could be excluded in both parents. The five base pair deletion at codon 1309 (c.3927_3931delAAAGA) was over-represented in the group of patients with suspected de novo mutations (17/58=29%), when compared to the group of familial cases (26/505=5%); thus, the high frequency of this mutation is not due to a founder effect but rather due to de novo mutation events. Parental origin of de novo mutations could be traced in 16 families, including three families with large chromosomal deletions. Four mutations were of maternal and 12 of paternal origin, pointing to a moderate preponderance towards paternal origin. Sex-related differences of mutation types could be observed: large deletions and single-base substitutions were exclusively of paternal origin, whereas the small deletions were equally distributed (maternal/paternal ratio 4:4).

Frequent normal allele loss and maternal origin of the mutation shown by DNA homoduplex analysis in a severely affected patient with adenomatous polyposis coli

An atypically high frequency of loss of heterozygosity at chromosome 5q22 in small adenomas from a severely affected new mutation patient with adenomatous polyposis coli was recently reported. DNA homoduplex analysis has now been used to show that the deletion in the adenomas extends to include the APC locus and that the normal allele is lost. These data also prove the maternal origin of the mutation.