Independent NF1 and PTPN11 mutations in a family with neurofibromatosis‐Noonan syndrome

Neurofibromatosis‐Noonan syndrome (NFNS), an entity which combines both features of Noonan syndrome (NS) and neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), was etiologically unresolved until recent reports demonstrated NF1 mutations in the majority of patients with NFNS. The phenotypic overlap was explained by the involvement of the Ras pathway in both disorders, and, accordingly, clustering of the NF1 mutations in the GTPase‐activating protein (GAP) domain of neurofibromin was observed in individuals with NFNS. We report on an 18‐month‐old girl with typical findings suggestive of NS in combination with multiple café‐au‐lait spots and bilateral optic gliomas suggestive of NF1. The patient was found to carry a de novo PTPN11 mutation p.T2I as well as the maternally inherited NF1 mutation c.4661+1G>C. Her otherwise healthy mother and brother, who also had the NF1 mutation, showed few café‐au‐lait spots as the only sign of neurofibromatosis. Since our patient's unique NF1 mutation results in skipping of exon 27a and thus involves the same region, Gap‐related domain, that had been shown to be associated with NFNS, her phenotype could have been misleadingly attributed to the NF1 mutation only. Contrarily, absence of both cutaneous neurofibromas and NS features in her relatives with the same NF1 mutation, suggests that the index patient's typical NFNS phenotype is caused by an additive effect of mutations in both NF1 and PTPN11. In contrast to previous findings, we speculate that absence of cutaneous neurofibromas is not solely associated with the recurrent 3‐bp in‐frame deletion in exon 17. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.