In brain tissue, levels of PAX3 were significantly reduced in both encephalocele and spina bifida subtypes; the expression levels of cleaved caspase 3(17 kD) of encephalocele cases and cleaved caspase 8(47/45 kD) in spina bifida cases were higher than in controls; no difference was found in the expression of p53 or caspase 9 between NTDs and controls.
Comparison of the clinical features of MKS3-linked cases with reports of MKS1- and MKS2-linked kindreds suggests that polydactyly (and possibly encephalocele) appear less common in MKS3-linked families.
A case-control study was designed to compare the frequencies of the polymorphism at four sites in the SUFU gene in control and NTDs group, as well as in subtype groups, including anencephaly, spina bifida and encephalocele.
The highest frequency (77%) of overexpression for Nanog3 and Sox2 was observed in encephalocele and anencephalic patients, while in the comparison of regional variation, i.e., cephalic to caudal regions of NTDs, the highest frequency of downregulation (regression) of Nanog3 and Sox2 was found in lumbosacral myelomeningocele patients.
Duplications of this region involving RMND5A, whose product contains a C-terminal to lis homology (LisH) domain, have not previously been associated with a defined phenotype but may present insight into encephalocele formation.