DESCRIPTION OF A NEW MUTATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF FGFR1, FGFR2, AND FGFR3 MUTATIONS AMONG BRAZILIAN PATIENTS WITH SYNDROMIC CRANIOSYNOSTOSES

Dominant mutations in three fibroblast growth factor receptor genes (F GFRs1-3) cause Crouzon, Jackson-Weiss, Pfeiffer, and Apert syndromes. In the present study, 50 Brazilian patients with these four syndromes (27 Apert, 17 Crouzon, 5 Pfeiffer, and 1 Jackson-Weiss patients) were screened for mutations in the FGFR1-3 genes. Except for one, all the A pert patients had either S252W (n = 16) or P253R (n = 10) mutations. T he remaining Apert case is atypical with a mutation altering the splic e site of FGFR2 exon IIIc. The Pfeiffer patients had mutations in one of the FGFR genes: three in FGFR2, one in FGFR1, and one in FGFR3. In contrast, only 8 of the 17 Crouzon patients studied had a mutation in either FGFR2 (n = 7) or FGFR3 locus (n = 1). Mutations in the FGFR2 lo cus account for most (93%) of our syndromic craniosynostotic cases, wh ereas 5% had mutations in the FGFR3 locus and only 2% had mutations in the FGFR1 gene. Except for one, all the other mutations were reported previously in craniosynostotic patients from other populations. Inter estingly, the mutation C278F, previously described in Crouzon and Pfei ffer cases, was here identified in a familial case with Jackson-Weiss. Also, unexpectedly, a common mutation altering the splice site of the FGFR2 exon IIIc was found in one Apert and two Pfeiffer patients. In addition, we identified a new mutation (A337P) in the FGFR2 exon IIIc associated with Crouzon phenotype. (C) 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.