Laboratory Medicine ›› 2026, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (2): 126-132.DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1673-8640.2026.02.005

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Prenatal case report and genetic analysis of Nance-Horan syndrome caused by a new NHS gene variation

ZHANG Man1, TIAN Ruixia2, SUN Zixiang1, CHEN Cheng2, WEI Zhuojun2, ZHAO Xuliang3()   

  1. 1. Department of Clinical Laboratorythe No. 901 Hospital of the Joint Service of the People's Liberation ArmyHefei 230031,Anhui, China
    2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecologythe No. 901 Hospital of the Joint Service of the People's Liberation ArmyHefei 230031,Anhui, China
    3. Department of Clinical LaboratoryChizhou Maternal and Child Health Care HospitalChizhou 247099,Anhui, China
  • Received:2024-12-01 Revised:2025-06-16 Online:2026-02-28 Published:2026-03-06

Abstract:

Objective To investigate the genetic cause of a fetus diagnosed with congenital cataract(CC) by prenatal ultrasound,and to analyze the pathogenic gene variations and prenatal ultrasound manifestations of Nance-Horan syndrome. Methods A sample of amniotic fluid from a pregnant woman at 24+3 weeks of gestation who was suspected of having bilateral CC in the fetus,as well as peripheral blood samples from the pregnant woman and her husband,were collected for family Trio-whole-exome sequencing(Trio-WES). The candidate variations were verified by Sanger sequencing. The variations were analyzed by bioinformatics,and the distribution frequency of the variations was evaluated by searching public variation databases(dbSNP database,1000 Genomes database,ExAC database,gnomAD database and ESP database). The literature reports of the variations were retrieved from disease-related databases(HGMD database,ClinVar database and OMIM database). The pathogenicity of the variations was evaluated by protein prediction tools. Results The Trio-WES results showed that a hemizygous frameshift variation [NM_001291867.2:c.3799dup(p.Cys1267Leufs*18)] was present in the X chromosome of the fetus,and the pregnant woman was a heterozygous carrier of this variation,while her husband had the wild type. The c.3799dup(p.Cys1267Leufs*18) variation was not included in the public variation databases and disease-related databases,and it was a new variation. No other pathogenic variations were determined. Combined with the ultrasound characteristics of bilateral CC in the fetus,Nance-Horan syndrome caused by NHS gene variation was diagnosed. After genetic counseling,the pregnant woman chose to terminate the pregnancy. Conclusions Trio-WES can achieve precise molecular diagnosis of Nance-Horan syndrome in the fetal period. The c.3799dup(p.Cys1267Leufs*18) is a new variation of NHS gene,enriching the variation spectrum of this disease,and providing a reference for prenatal diagnosis and reproductive strategies.

Key words: NHS gene, Congenital cataract, Nance-Horan syndrome, Prenatal diagnosis, Whole-exome sequencing

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