Renal abnormalities in Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome are associated with 11p15.5 uniparental disomy

Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS) is a somatic overgrowth syndrome characterized by a variable incidence of congenital anomalies, including hemihyperplasia and renal malformations. BWS is associated with disruption of genomic imprinting and/or mutations in one or more genes encoded on 11p15.5, including CDKN1C (p57^KIP2). It was hypothesized that genotypic and epigenotypic abnormalities of the 11p15.5 region affecting CDKN1C were associated with renal abnormalities. Medical records for 159 individuals with BWS were reviewed. All underwent at least one abdominal ultrasonographic evaluation. Testing for paternal uniparental disomy (UPD) at 11p15.5, CDKN1C mutations, and imprinting defects at KvDMR1 was performed for 96, 32, and 47 patients, respectively. Of the 159 patients, 67 (42%) exhibited renal abnormalities, mainly nephromegaly (25%), collecting system abnormalities (11%), and renal cysts (10.5%). The frequency of renal lesions among patients who were tested for genetic abnormalities did not differ from that among patients who were not tested. Paternal UPD was demonstrated in 22 of 96 cases (23%), CDKN1C mutations in eight of 32 cases (25%), and KvDMR1 imprinting defects in 21 of 47 cases (45%). The 22 UPD-positive patients exhibited a significantly higher incidence of renal abnormalities (P = 0.0026). Surprisingly, the eight patients with CDKN1C mutations exhibited no significant increase in the incidence of renal lesions (P = 0.29). Imprinting defects at KvDMR1, which might downregulate CDKN1C, were also not associated with a significant difference in the incidence of renal disease. Whereas UPD at 11p15.5 in BWS was associated with a higher incidence of renal abnormalities, mutations at CDKN1C and KvDMR1 imprinting defects were not, suggesting that imprinted genes on 11p15.5 other than CDKN1C are critical for renal development.