Noonan syndrome is a pleomorphic genetic disorder, in which a high percentage of affected individuals have cardiovascular involvement, most prevalently various forms of congenital heart disease (i.e., pulmonary valve stenosis, septal defects, left‐sided lesions, and complex forms with multiple anomalies). Care includes attentiveness to several comorbidities, some directly impacting cardiac management (bleeding diatheses and lymphatic anomalies). More than 50% of patients with Noonan syndrome harbor PTPN11 pathogenic variation, which results in hyperactivation of RAS/mitogen‐activated protein kinase signaling. Several other disease genes with similar biological effects have been uncovered for NS and phenotypically related disorders, collectively called the RASopathies. Molecular diagnosis with gene resequencing panels is now widely available, but phenotype variability and in some cases, subtlety, continues to make identification of Noonan syndrome difficult. Until genetic testing becomes universal for patients with congenital heart disease, alertness to Noonan syndrome's broad clinical presentations remains crucial. Genotype–phenotype associations for Noonan syndrome enable better prognostication for affected patients when a molecular diagnosis is established. We still lack Noonan syndrome‐specific treatment; however, newly developed anticancer RAS pathway inhibitors could fill that gap if safety and efficacy can be established for indications such as pulmonary valve stenosis.
Pseudohypoparathyroidism type 1A (PHP1A), pseudoPHP (PPHP), and PHP type 1B (PHP1B) are caused by maternal and paternal GNAS mutations, and abnormal methylation at maternal GNAS promoter(s), respectively. Adult PHP1A patients are reportedly obese and short, whereas most PPHP patients are born small. In addition to PTH resistance, PHP1A and PHP1B patients may display early-onset obesity. As early-onset and severe obesity and short stature are daily burdens for PHP1A patients, we aimed at improving knowledge on the contribution of the GNAS transcripts to fetal and postnatal growth and fat storage. Through an international collaboration, we collected growth and weight data from birth until adulthood for 306 PHP1A/PPHP and 220 PHP1B patients. PHP1A/PPHP patients were smaller at birth than healthy controls, especially PPHP (length z-score PHP1A: −1.1±1.8; PPHP: −3.0±1.5). Short stature is observed in 64% and 59% of adult PHP1A and PPHP patients. PHP1B patients displayed early post-natal overgrowth (height z-score at 1 year: 2.2±1.3 and 1.3±1.5 in autosomal dominant and sporadic PHP1B) followed by a gradual decrease in growth velocity resulting in normal adult height (z-score for both: −0.4±1.1). Early-onset obesity characterizes GNAS alterations and is associated to significant overweight and obesity in adults (BMI z-score: 1.4±2.6, 2.1±2.0, and 1.4±1.9 in PPHP, PHP1A, and PHP1B, respectively), indicating that reduced Gsα expression is a contributing factor.. The growth impairment in PHP1A/PPHP may be due to Gsα haploinsufficiency in the growth plates; the paternal XLαs transcript likely contributes to prenatal growth; for all disease variants, a reduced pubertal growth spurt may be due to accelerated growth plate closure. Consequently, early diagnosis and close follow-up is needed in patients with GNAS defects to screen and intervene in case of early-onset obesity and decreased growth velocity.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.