Craniofacial Phenotypes and Genetics of DiGeorge Syndrome

Abstract

The 22q11.2 deletion is one of the most common genetic microdeletions, affecting approximately 1 in 4000 live births in humans. A 1.5 to 2.5 Mb hemizygous deletion of chromosome 22q11.2 causes DiGeorge syndrome (DGS) and velocardiofacial syndrome (VCFS). DGS/VCFS are associated with prevalent cardiac malformations, thymic and parathyroid hypoplasia, and craniofacial defects. Patients with DGS/VCFS manifest craniofacial anomalies involving the cranium, cranial base, jaws, pharyngeal muscles, ear-nose-throat, palate, teeth, and cervical spine. Most craniofacial phenotypes of DGS/VCFS are caused by proximal 1.5 Mb microdeletions, resulting in a hemizygosity of coding genes, microRNAs, and long noncoding RNAs. TBX1, located on chromosome 22q11.21, encodes a T-box transcription factor and is a candidate gene for DGS/VCFS. TBX1 regulates the fate of progenitor cells in the cranial and pharyngeal apparatus during embryogenesis. Tbx1-null mice exhibit the most clinical features of DGS/VCFS, including craniofacial phenotypes. Despite the frequency of DGS/VCFS, there has been a limited review of the craniofacial phenotypes of DGC/VCFS. This review focuses on these phenotypes and summarizes the current understanding of the genetic factors that impact DGS/VCFS-related phenotypes. We also review DGS/VCFS mouse models that have been designed to better understand the pathogenic processes of DGS/VCFS.

Keywords: 22q11.2 deletion syndrome; DiGeorge syndrome; cleft palate; cleidocranial dysplasia; hyoid bone; skull base; teeth abnormalities; velocardiofacial syndrome.

Figure 1

Proximal deletions of chromosome 22q11.2 are responsible for the clinical features of DGS/VCFS. Snapshot of the UCSC Genome Browser (http://genome.ucsc.edu accessed on 3 August 2021) in the hg38 assembly showing the genomic context in the proximal deletions of chromosome 22q11.2. Top, the 25 kb resolution Hi-C data in H1 human embryonic stem cell line (H1-hESC). Bottom, the coding (blue) and noncoding RNAs (green), including miRNAs and long noncoding RNAs, are shown.

Figure 2

Interaction network of genes associated with DGS/VCFS phenotypes in mice. (A) A gene-based network where each gene connects to a feature. The network was constructed using ToppCluster (https://toppcluster.cchmc.org/ accessed on 6 May 2022). Mouse phenotypes are shown in the network. (B) The protein–protein interaction network was constructed using the STRING tool (https://string-db.org/ accessed on 6 May 2022). Genes associated with DGS/VCFS phenotypes in mice (Table 4) were the input. Different colors represent different types of evidence of a connection between proteins.