Analysis of the parental origin of de novo MECP2 mutations and X chromosome inactivation in 24 sporadic patients with Rett syndrome in China.

Rett syndrome is an X-linked neurodevelopmental disorder that predominantly affects females. It is caused by mutations in methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 gene. Due to the sex-limited expression, it has been suggested that de novo X-linked mutations may exclusively occur in male germ cells and thus only females are affected. In this study, the authors have analyzed the parental origin of mutations and the X-chromosome inactivation status in 24 sporadic patients with identified methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 gene mutations. The results showed that 22 of 24 patients have a paternal origin. Only 2 patients have a maternal origin. Except for 2 cases which were homozygotic at the androgen receptor gene locus, of the remaining 22 cases, 16 cases have a random X-chromosome inactivation pattern; the other 6 cases have a skewed X-chromosome inactivation and they favor expression of the wild allele. The relationship between X-chromosome inactivation and phenotype may need more cases to explore.