Waardenburg syndrome type 2 (WS2) is an autosomal dominant auditory-pigmentary syndrome characterized by pigmentary abnormalities of the hair, skin, and eyes; congenital sensorineural hearing loss; and the absence of 'dystopia canthorum,' the lateral displacement of the ocular inner canthi, which is seen in some other forms of WS (reviews by Read and Newton, 1997 and Pingault et al., 2010).
Clinical Variability of Waardenburg Syndrome Types 1-4
Waardenburg syndrome has been classified into 4 main phenotypes. Waardenburg syndrome type 1 (WS1; 193500) is characterized by pigmentary abnormalities of the hair, including a white forelock and premature graying; pigmentary changes of the iris, such as heterochromia iridis and brilliant blue eyes; congenital sensorineural hearing loss; and 'dystopia canthorum.' WS type 2 (WS2) is distinguished from type 1 by the absence of dystopia canthorum. WS type 3 (WS3; 148820) has dystopia canthorum and is distinguished by the presence of upper limb abnormalities. WS type 4 (WS4; 277580), also known as Waardenburg-Shah syndrome, has the additional feature of Hirschsprung disease (reviews by Read and Newton, 1997 and Pingault et al., 2010).
Genetic Heterogeneity of Waardenburg Syndrome Type 2
Waardenburg syndrome type 2 is a genetically heterogeneous disorder. WS2B (600193) has been mapped to chromosome 1p. WS2C (606662) has been mapped to chromosome 8p23. WS2E (611584) is caused by mutation in the SOX10 gene (602229) on chromosome 22q13. WS2F (619947) is caused by mutation in the KITLG gene (184745) on chromosome 12q21.
A form of WS2, designated WS2D, was thought to be caused by deletion of the SNAI2 gene (602150.0001), but the deletion has been reclassified as a variant of unknown significance. [from
OMIM]