Prenatal diagnosis of de novo isochromosome 4p with an unbalanced t(4;9) translocation in a fetus with congenital anomalies: A case report and literature review

Abstract

Objective: We present the first case of prenatally diagnosed isochromosome 4p with whole 4q arm translocating to chromosome 9p23 and review the literature. Case Report: A 26-year-old woman underwent amniocentesis at 25 weeks of gestation because of an abnormal ultrasound examination. Routine chromosome analysis on cultured amniocytes showed a karyotype of 46,XX, ?idic(4)(q11),der(9)t(4;9)(q11;p23). Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array analysis on uncultured amniocytes detected two copy number variations (CNVs): arr [GRCh37] 4p16.3p11(68345-49089361) × 3; arr [GRCh37] 9p24.3p23(208454-10039391) × 1. The karyotypes of the parents were normal, indicating that the chromosomal rearrangement was de novo. According to the fetal-parent trios SNP analysis, both the abnormal chromosomes were originated from the father. The pregnancy was terminated at 30 weeks of gestation, and a malformed fetus was delivered with dysmorphic craniofacial, short neck, wide-spaced nipples and rocker-bottom feet. Conclusion: The combined application of traditional cytogenetic technology and molecular diagnosis technology in prenatal diagnosis helps identify genetic components and the origin of isochromosome, which enable clinicians to precisely predict the fetal prognosis and provide accurate genetic counselling and fertility guidance.

Keywords

• Chromosome 9p deletion syndrome
• Isochromosome 4p
• Prenatal diagnosis
• Trisomy 4p syndrome
• Whole-arm translocation