H Brems

KU Leuven, Leuven, VLG, Belgium

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Publications (11)50.91 Total impact

  • Article: Preimplantation genetic diagnosis using fluorescent in situ hybridization for cancer predisposition syndromes caused by microdeletions.
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    ABSTRACT: Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) are dominantly inherited late onset cancer predisposition syndromes caused by mutations in the respective tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) NF1 and VHL. Less frequently TSGs are partially or fully deleted. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for cancer predisposition can be applied to select against the mutant allele in carrier couples. However, microdeletions within a single cell can, at present, not be detected by molecular diagnostic methods usually applied for PGD of monogenic disorders. We performed PGD using interphase fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) on single blastomeres for three couples of which the women carried a microdeletion. One patient had the recurrent 1.4 Mb microdeletion covering NF1, a second suffered from an intragenic NF1 deletion and the last had a deletion of VHL. In total, seven PGD cycles were carried out for these couples, which resulted in the delivery of a healthy twin for the VHL microdeletion carrier. FISH-based PGD is a straightforward approach to detect (micro)deletions in single blastomeres. It seems likely that the number of conditions for which PGD-FISH is beneficial will increase rapidly with the advent of high-resolution arrays.
    Human Reproduction 04/2009; 24(6):1522-8. · 4.47 Impact Factor
  • Article: The cardiofaciocutaneous syndrome: prenatal findings in two patients.
    Prenatal Diagnosis 02/2008; 28(1):53-5. · 2.11 Impact Factor
  • Article: Intelligence in individuals with a neurofibromatosis type 1 microdeletion.
    American Journal of Medical Genetics Part A 01/2005; 131(3):325-6. · 2.39 Impact Factor
  • Article: Elevated risk for MPNST in NF1 microdeletion patients.
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    ABSTRACT: An NF1 microdeletion is the single most commonly reported mutation in individuals with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). Individuals with an NF1 microdeletion have, as a group, more neurofibromas at a younger age than the group of all individuals with NF1. We report that NF1 microdeletion individuals additionally have a substantially higher lifetime risk for the development of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors than individuals with NF1 who do not have an NF1 microdeletion. This should be taken into account in the medical follow-up of individuals with an NF1 microdeletion.
    The American Journal of Human Genetics 06/2003; 72(5):1288-92. · 10.60 Impact Factor
  • Article: Second polar body inclusion results in diploid/triploid mixoploidy.
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    ABSTRACT: We report three cases with a typical diploid/triploid mixoploidy. Cytogenetic analysis showed a normal diploid karyotype in peripheral blood lymphocytes and a mixture of diploid and triploid cells in skin fibroblasts. We analysed microsatellite markers in patients blood lymphocytes and skin fibroblasts and compared the results with the microsatellite markers in the parents. The extra haploid set was in all three cases of maternal origin. In one case the markers were not very informative but in two cases pericentromeric markers showed a single dose of one paternal allele and a double dose of one maternal allele, more telomeric markers showed one paternal allele and two different maternal alleles. These observations can only be explained by the inclusion of the second polar body in one of the blastomeres at the cleavage stage.
    Genetic counseling (Geneva, Switzerland) 02/2003; 14(4):425-9. · 0.50 Impact Factor
  • Article: Hemifacial microsomia in two patients further supporting chromosomal mosaicism as a causative factor.
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    ABSTRACT: We report two cases with hemifacial microsomia with body asymmetry associated with mosaic trisomies. The child with mosaic trisomy 9 had skin pigmentary changes. In the boy with mosaic trisomy 22, the extra chromosome 22 originated from a maternal meiosis I error.
    Clinical Dysmorphology 11/2001; 10(4):263-7. · 0.54 Impact Factor
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    Article: Recombination hotspot in NF1 microdeletion patients.
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    ABSTRACT: Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) patients that are heterozygous for an NF1 microdeletion are remarkable for an early age at onset and an excessive burden of dermal neurofibromas. Microdeletions are predominantly maternal in origin and arise by unequal crossover between misaligned NF1REP paralogous sequence blocks which flank the NF1 gene. We mapped and sequenced the breakpoints in several patients and designed primers within each paralog to specifically amplify a 3.4 kb deletion junction fragment. This assay amplified a deletion junction fragment from 25 of the 54 unrelated NF1 microdeletion patients screened. Sequence analysis demonstrated that each of the 25 recombination events occurred in a discrete 2 kb recombination hotspot within each of the flanking NF1REPs. Two recombination events were accompanied by apparent gene conversion. A search for recombination-prone motifs revealed a chi-like sequence; however, it is unknown whether this element stimulates recombination to occur at the hotspot. The deletion-junction assay will facilitate the prospective identification of patients with NF1 microdeletion at this hotspot for genotype-phenotype correlation studies and diagnostic evaluation.
    Human Molecular Genetics 07/2001; 10(13):1387-92. · 7.64 Impact Factor
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    Article: Unequal meiotic crossover: a frequent cause of NF1 microdeletions.
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    ABSTRACT: Neurofibromatosis type 1 is a common autosomal dominant disorder caused by mutations of the NF1 gene on chromosome 17. In only 5%-10% of cases, a microdeletion including the NF1 gene is found. We analyzed a set of polymorphic dinucleotide-repeat markers flanking the microdeletion on chromosome 17 in a group of seven unrelated families with a de novo NF1 microdeletion. Six of seven microdeletions were of maternal origin. The breakpoints of the microdeletions of maternal origin were localized in flanking paralogous sequences, called "NF1-REPs." The single deletion of paternal origin was shorter, and no crossover occurred on the paternal chromosome 17 during transmission. Five of the six cases of maternal origin were informative, and all five showed a crossover, between the flanking markers, after maternal transmission. The observed crossovers flanking the NF1 region suggest that these NF1 microdeletions result from an unequal crossover in maternal meiosis I, mediated by a misalignment of the flanking NF1-REPs.
    The American Journal of Human Genetics 07/2000; 66(6):1969-74. · 10.60 Impact Factor
  • Article: NF2 gene deletion in a family with a mild phenotype.
    Journal of Medical Genetics 02/2000; 37(1):75-7. · 6.36 Impact Factor
  • Article: Molecular studies in 20 submicroscopic neurofibromatosis type 1 gene deletions.
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    ABSTRACT: Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a common autosomal dominant disorder characterized by a marked variability in expression. A more severe phenotype is frequently observed in the group of patients carrying a large NF1 deletion. To study the extent of the microdeletion in these NF1 patients, we generated a partial physical map of the NF1 flanking region. We describe seven PACs and three new polymorphic dinucleotide repeats located outside the NF1 gene and analyzed 20 unrelated individuals with an NF1 microdeletion in a collaborative study. We detected one individual with a substantially smaller deletion including only the NF1 gene and its three embedded genes. In the other 19 patients, the deletion extended at least 1 Mb. The parental origin of the deletion was determined in 15 individuals and was maternal in 13 and paternal in two cases. The new molecular tools described here can be used to unequivocally diagnose a possible extragenic extension of an NF1 deletion.
    Human Mutation 02/1999; 14(5):387-93. · 5.69 Impact Factor
  • Article: Preimplantation genetic diagnosis using fluorescent in situ hybridization for cancer predisposition syndromes caused by microdeletions
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) are dominantly inherited late onset cancer predisposition syndromes caused by mutations in the respective tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) NF1 and VHL . Less frequently TSGs are partially or fully deleted. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for cancer predisposition can be applied to select against the mutant allele in carrier couples. However, microdeletions within a single cell can, at present, not be detected by molecular diagnostic methods usually applied for PGD of monogenic disorders. METHODS We performed PGD using interphase fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) on single blastomeres for three couples of which the women carried a microdeletion. One patient had the recurrent 1.4 Mb microdeletion covering NF1 , a second suffered from an intragenic NF1 deletion and the last had a deletion of VHL . RESULTS In total, seven PGD cycles were carried out for these couples, which resulted in the delivery of a healthy twin for the VHL microdeletion carrier. CONCLUSIONS FISH-based PGD is a straightforward approach to detect (micro)deletions in single blastomeres. It seems likely that the number of conditions for which PGD-FISH is beneficial will increase rapidly with the advent of high-resolution arrays.