Prenatal diagnosis of a fetus with a homologous Robertsonian translocation of chromosome 15

We present a prenatal diagnosis of a de novo homologous Robertsonian translocation involving both chromosomes 15. Amniocentesis was performed on a 36-year-old woman at 16.5 weeks of gestation. Chromosome analysis documented a 45,XX,der(15;15) (q10;q10) chromosome pattern. No evidence of a deletion was observed by FISH using a SNRPN DNA probe associated with the Prader-Willi/Angelman syndrome critical region. Molecular studies in the family using six polymorphic markers for chromosome 15 and Southern blot analysis of DNA methylation for the CpG island near the SNRPN gene showed normal biparental inheritance of chromosome 15, excluding uniparental disomy. The patient was counseled that her child would not be able to bear offspring without clinical assistance. Otherwise the health and intellect of her child were expected to be affected by the translocation. We consider this to be the first prenatal case identified with a balanced der(15;15)(q10;q10) Robertsonian translocation and a phenotypically normal female outcome. Prenatally identified cases of der(15;15)(q10;q10) warrant further investigation by molecular methodology.