Simplified strategy for rapid first-line screening of fragile X syndrome: closed-tube triplet-primed PCR and amplicon melt peak analysis

Premutation and full-mutation hyperexpansion of CGG-triplets in the X-linked Fragile X Mental Retardation 1 (FMR1) gene have been implicated in fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome, fragile X-associated primary ovarian insufficiency, and fragile X syndrome (FXS), respectively. The currently available molecular diagnostic tests are either costly or labour-intensive, which prohibits their application as a first-line FMR1 test in large-scale population-based screening programs. In this study, we demonstrate the utility of a simplified closed-tube strategy for rapid first-line screening of FXS based on melt peak temperature (T(m)) analysis of direct triplet-primed polymerase chain reaction amplicons (dTP-PCR MCA). In addition, we also evaluated the correlation between T(m) and CGG-repeat size based on capillary electrophoresis (CE) of dTP-PCR amplicons. The assays were initially tested on 29 FMR1 reference DNA samples, followed by a blinded validation on 107 previously characterised patient DNA samples. The dTP-PCR MCA produced distinct melt profiles of higher T(m) for samples carrying an expanded allele. Among the samples tested, we also observed a good correlation between T(m) and CGG-repeat size. In the blinded validation study, dTP-PCR MCA accurately classified all normal and expansion carriers, and the FMR1 genotypic classification of all samples was completely concordant with the previously determined genotypes as well as the dTP-PCR CE results. This simple and cost-effective MCA-based assay may be useful as a first-line FXS screening tool that could rapidly screen out the large majority of unaffected individuals, thus minimising the number of samples that need to be analysed by Southern blot analysis.