Microdeletion of LIT1 in familial Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome

Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS), which causes prenatal overgrowth, midline abdominal wall defects, macroglossia, and embryonal tumors, is a model for understanding the relationship between genomic imprinting, human development, and cancer. The causes are heterogeneous, involving multiple genes on 11p15 and including infrequent mutation of p57^KIP2 or loss of imprinting of either of two imprinted gene domains on 11p15: LIT1, which is near p57^KIP2, or H19/IGF2. Unlike Prader-Willi and Angelman syndromes, no chromosomal deletions have yet been identified. Here we report a microdeletion including the entire LIT1 gene, providing genetic confirmation of the importance of this gene region in BWS. When inherited maternally, the deletion causes BWS with silencing of p57^KIP2, indicating deletion of an element important for the regulation of p57^KIP2 expression. When inherited paternally, there is no phenotype, suggesting that the LIT1 RNA itself is not necessary for normal development in humans.