Report of a patient with a de novo non-recurrent duplication of 17p11.2p12 and Yq11 deletion

Abstract Background The 17p11.2p12 locus is an unstable region that is predisposed to several known genomic disorders and non-recurrent rearrangements that yield varied and wide-ranging phenotypes. Nearly 1% of male newborns have deletions in the Y chromosome; these events primarily involve the heterochromatic region, but may extend to euchromatic Yq segments containing azoospermia factor regions. Case presentation We describe the occurrence of two independent chromosomal rearrangements that originated as de novo events in a single male patient: a 10.8-Mb duplication of 17p11.2p12 and a 14.7-Mb deletion of Yq11. This individual shares some clinical characteristics with previously described patients having one or the other of these rearrangements, including global developmental delay, short stature, hypotonia, delayed puberty, certain facial features and a generalized demyelinating sensory-motor polyneuropathy without clinical manifestation. Our patient also presents some features that were not previously described in relevant individuals, including camptodactyly, preauricular pits and hypertrichosis of the back and elbows. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first patient to be reported with independent de novo deletion/duplication events involving chromosomes 17 and Y. We discuss possible responsible mechanisms and address the phenotype, particularly in light of the clinical features that were not previously reported for patients bearing a duplication of 17p11.2p12 or a deletion of Yq11. We suggest that some of the previously reported patients with Yq11 deletion and clinical manifestations other than male infertility may have additional chromosomal imbalances that could be identified by chromosome microarray analysis, as illustrated by the present case.