A Rare Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (CFTR) Mutation Associated With Typical Cystic Fibrosis in an Arab Child

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a progressive genetic disorder, inherited by the autosomal recessive mode of inheritance and more frequently seen in the Caucasian population with a carrier rate of 1:29 in Caucasian-Americans. Over 1800 cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene mutations have been identified so far and the delta F 508 del mutation is the most common mutation. Gene sequencing and deletion/duplication analysis can detect mutations in 99% of people with a clinical diagnosis of CF. However, diagnostic testing can be challenging, as screening tests may be inconclusive and the routine gene mutation panel analysis may be negative due to some rare or undocumented mutations. We report a case of a two-year-old boy of Palestinian-Lebanese descent, with a history of raised immunoreactive trypsin test (IRT), positive sweat test, and phenotypical CF manifestations, found to have rare CF apparent homozygous CFTR (NM_000492.3) variant, c.3623del (p.Gly1208AlafsX3). In our case, genetic testing for 139 mutations done in Germany could not identify any defect. Only CFTR gene sequencing identified the above pathogenic variant. This reinforces the practice for a broad range of CFTR mutation analyses to detect ethnic-specific rare variants. This is the second case of this particular genetic mutation identified and the first to be reported in detail.