Live‐born autosomal ring chromosomes at the Johns Hopkins Hospital Cytogenomics Laboratory: Case series—Spanning 52 years of experience in a single center

Abstract

Ring chromosomes (RCs) are a structural aberration that can be tolerated better in acrocentric or gonosomal chromosomes. Complete RCs arise from telomere‐telomere fusions. Alternatively, genomic imbalances corresponding to the ends of the chromosomal arms can be seen with RC formation. RCs are unstable in mitosis, result in mosaicism, and are associated with a “ring syndrome,” which presents with growth and development phenotypes and differs from those features more frequently observed with pure terminal copy number changes. Due to variability in mosaicism, size, and genomic content, clear genotype–phenotype correlations may not always be possible. Given the rarity of RCs, this historical data is invaluable. We performed a retrospective review of individuals bearing RCs to investigate the incidence in our laboratory. This work details the methods and features seen in association with twenty‐three autosomal RCs. In decreasing order, the most frequently seen autosomal RCs were 18, 22, 4, 13, 17, and 9. The additional cases detail clinical and cytogenomic events similar to those reported in RCs. As methodologies advance, insights may be gleaned from following up on these cases to improve genotype–phenotype correlations and understand the cryptic differences or other predisposing factors that lead to ring formation and development.