A new PCR assay useful for screening of FRAXE/FMR2 mental impairment among males.

FRAXE (FMR2) is a fragile site associated with mental impairment located in Xq28, 600 kb distal to FRAXA (FMR1), the fragile X syndrome fragile site. The FRAXE mutation is an expansion of a CCG repeat that results in methylation of a nearby CpG island. FRAXE alleles could be divided into four categories: normal (6-30 CCG repeats), intermediate (31-60 CCG repeats), premutation (61-200 CCG repeats), and full mutation (over 200 repeats). We have developed a non-isotopic polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based assay for the identification of FRAXE full mutation alleles among mentally impaired men. In this novel PCR test for the FRAXE locus, we used three primers to permit an amplification of a 223 bp monomorphic internal control fragment in addition to the amplification of a 419 bp (CCG)(16) FRAXE locus band. A linear series of 93 male patients referred for FRAXE testing but found to be negative for the (CCG)(n) expansion in the FMR2 gene by Southern blotting analysis were retested by our PCR technique. In addition, we analyzed two positive controls consisting of a FRAXE fully mutated male and one male with a Xq terminal deletion. The developed PCR test showed accuracy of 100% in the normal individuals retested by PCR analysis, as well as in the two positive control samples utilized, in which the strategy of multiplex amplification worked as expected. Although not suitable for medical diagnosis of females and mosaics, it constitutes an important strategy for PCR typing and for FRAXE population screening. Copyright 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.