Evidence for an association between markers on chromosome 19q and non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate in two groups of multiplex families

It has been reported that BCL3 on chromosome 19q, or a nearby gene, may play a role in the etiology of non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCL/P) in some families. We tested 30 USA and 11 Mexican multiplex NSCL/P families for four markers on chromosome 19q: D19S178, APOC2/AC1, APOC2/007, and BCL3. While likelihood-based linkage analysis failed to show significant evidence of linkage, the transmission disequilibrium test indicated highly significant deviation from independent assortment of allele 3 at the BCL3 marker in both data sets (USA: P = 0.001; Mexican: P = 0.018; both combined: P < 0.001) and for allele 13 of the D19S178 marker in the Mexican data set (P = 0.004). These results support an association, possibly due to linkage disequilibrium, between chromosome 19 markers and a putative NSCL/P locus.