Is Koolen-de Vries syndrome inherited ?
Koolen-de Vries syndrome is considered an autosomal dominant condition because a deletion or mutation affecting one copy of the KANSL1 gene in each cell is sufficient to cause the disorder. In most cases, the disorder is not inherited. The genetic change occurs most often as a random event during the formation of reproductive cells (eggs and sperm) or in early fetal development. Affected people typically have no history of the disorder in their family. While it is possible for them to pass the condition on to their children, no individuals with Koolen-de Vries syndrome have been known to reproduce.  Most people with Koolen-de Vries syndrome caused by a deletion have had at least one parent with a common variant of the 17q21.31 region of chromosome 17 called the H2 lineage. This variant is found in 20 percent of people of European and Middle Eastern descent, although it is rare in other populations. In the H2 lineage, a 900 kb segment of DNA, which includes the region deleted in most cases of Koolen-de Vries syndrome, has undergone an inversion. An inversion involves two breaks in a chromosome; the resulting piece of DNA is reversed and reinserted into the chromosome.  People with the H2 lineage have no health problems related to the inversion. However, genetic material can be lost or duplicated when the inversion is passed to the next generation. Other, unknown factors are thought to play a role in this process. So while the inversion is very common, only an extremely small percentage of parents with the inversion have a child affected by Koolen-de Vries syndrome.