Review of molecular mechanisms at distal Xq28 leading to balanced or unbalanced genomic rearrangements and their phenotypic impacts on hemophilia

The distal Xq28 region is very gene-rich, comprising a relatively large number of low-copy repeats (LCRs) predisposing to genomic rearrangements. The best-known rearrangement at this locus is the F8 intron 22 inversion, responsible for up to 45% of severe hemophilia A (HA) cases. An additional inversion of intron 1 of F8 has more recently been described, affecting 2%-5% of patients with severe HA. These "balanced" rearrangements are mediated by intrachromosomal homologous recombination between inversely oriented LCRs located in intron 1 or 22 and other extragenic copies positioned more telomerically outside the F8 gene. The successive innovations of semi-quantitative technologies like multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) and array comparative genomic hybridization (array CGH) have rendered it possible to highlight a significant number of "unbalanced" rearrangements associated or not with these inversions. Some rearrangements are generated by the non-allelic homologous recombination (NAHR) pathway between directly oriented LCRs. Others are probably the result of unequal crossing-over or U-loop exchanges during female meiosis. This review sought to provide an overview of the mechanisms underlying rearrangements at the distal Xq28 locus and discuss their clinical impacts other than HA, such as risks of developing high inhibitor levels and spontaneous abortion, as well as other pathologies like cardiovascular disease or potentially X-linked intellectual disease.