The Clinical and Molecular Spectrum of Trichorhinophalangeal Syndrome Types I and II in a Turkish Cohort Involving 22 Patients

OBJECTIVE: Trichorhinophalangeal syndrome is a rare autosomal dominant disorder characterized by distinctive craniofacial and skeletal abnormalities. This study aimed to delineate the trichorhinophalangeal syndrome phenotype and to compare the clinical and molecular findings between trichorhinophalangeal syndrome types I and II. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 22 trichorhinophalangeal syndrome patients aged 0.9-45 years from 17 families were enrolled. Nineteen patients were diagnosed with trichorhinophalangeal syndrome I and 3 with trichorhinophalangeal syndrome II. Genetic analyses were made by TRPS1 sequencing and/or chromosomal microarray analyses. RESULTS: : A novel frameshift variant (c.531_532del), a known missense variant, and whole-gene deletions were the pathogenic TRPS1 variants detected in trichorhinophalangeal syndrome I. Three trichorhinophalangeal syndrome II patients had large deletions with variable breakpoints involving the TRPS1-EXT1 interval. All patients had the typical craniofacial findings of trichorhinophalangeal syndrome such as a pear-shaped nose, long philtrum, and thin upper lip, as well as cone-shaped epiphyses. Sparse hair and eyebrows (20/22), short metacarpals and metatarsals (20/22), and small hands (19/22) were common. While craniofacial and limb abnormalities were similar in trichorhinophalangeal syndrome I and II, 3 of 19 trichorhinophalangeal syndrome I patients had mild, and 2 of 3 trichorhinophalangeal syndrome II patients had severe intellectual disability. Three trichorhinophalangeal syndrome II patients including the patient with the EXT1 deletion beginning from exon 2 had exostoses. In trichorhinophalangeal syndrome II, although microdeletion sizes and facial or skeletal features were not correlated, patients with larger deletions had severe intellectual disability. CONCLUSION: This study has expanded the existing knowledge on the phenotype–genotype spectrum in trichorhinophalangeal syndrome. We suggest including the EXT1 gene partially in the minimal critical region for trichorhinophalangeal syndrome II.