Split-hand/split-foot malformation with paternal mutation in the p63 gene

Abstract

We report the prenatal diagnosis at 16 weeks' gestation of bilateral split-hand/split-foot malformation (SHSFM) with severe lobster claw deformity of hands and feet in a male fetus without associated malformations. A minor manifestation of SHSFM was present in the father with only mild bilateral foot involvement (syndactyly I-II; cleft II-III; left cutaneous syndactyly III-IV). Mutation analysis of the p63 gene on chromosome 3q27 showed a missense mutation 577A-->G (predicting amino acid substitution K193E) in the father. This mutation has not been reported so far in SHSFM but resembles the previously reported 580A-->G (predicting amino acid substitution K194E) in a family with SHSFM.