Aniridia-Wilms’ tumor association: evidence for specific deletion of 11p13

Abstract

A 7-year-old boy with aniridia, Wilms’ tumor, and mental retardation, previously reported as having an interstitial deletion of the short arm of chromosome 8 resulting from a t(8p+;11q–) translocation (Ladda et al., 1974), has been restudied using high-resolution trypsin-Giemsa banding of prometaphase chromosomes. The results revealed a complex rearrangement with four break points in 8p, 11p, and 11q, leading to a net loss of an interstitial segment of 11p (region pl407→pl304) but not of 8p. His red blood cells contained normal activities of glutathione reductase (gene on 8p) and lactate dehydrogenase A (gene on 11p12), indicating a gene dosage consistent with the chromosomal findings. The revised interpretation of this case agrees with seven others reported as having aniridia and interstitial lip deletions in establishing the distal half of band 11p13 as the site of gene(s) which lead to aniridia and predispose to Wilms’ tumor if present in a hemizygous state. Possible relationships between heterozygous deletion of specific chromosomal bands llpl3 and 13ql4 and the autosomal dominant disorders aniridia, Wilms’ tumor, and retinoblastoma, respectively, are discussed.