We report a case of Denys-Drash syndrome (DDS) in a 3-month-old girl presenting with bilateral renal cortical cysts mimicking polycystic kidney disease. Genetic analysis revealed a de novo heterozygous missense mutation c.1186G>A (p.Asp396Asn) in the WT1 gene, confirming the diagnosis of DDS. Because multiple renal cysts have never been reported in DDS, we explored several genes responsible for these renal manifestations, such as HNF-1β, PAX2, PKD1, and PKD2. Remarkably, we identified a heterozygous missense variant c.12439A>G (p.Lys4147Glu) in the PKD1 gene. The same variant was found in the patient's mother, who had no renal cysts, and in the grandfather, who had several renal cysts. Mutation prediction programs classified the c.12439A>G variant as being "likely pathogenic." We hypothesize that the severe cystic phenotype in the index patient could be due to the WT1 mutation, enhancing pathogenicity of the "hypomorph" PKD1 allele. A possible role for Wilms tumor suppressor 1 (WT1) in renal cyst development should be considered. From a conceptual point of view, this case shows that an unusual presentation of a known genetic syndrome might point to bigenic inheritance, with unexpected interference of mutated genes causing an uncommon clinical phenotype.
Keywords: Denys-Drash syndrome; PKD1; WT1; diffuse mesangial sclerosis; polycystic kidney disease.