Renal hypodysplasia/aplasia belongs to a group of perinatally lethal renal diseases, including bilateral renal aplasia, unilateral renal agenesis with contralateral dysplasia (URA/RD), and severe obstructive uropathy. Renal aplasia falls at the most severe end of the spectrum of congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT; 610805), and usually results in death in utero or in the perinatal period. Families have been documented in which bilateral renal agenesis or aplasia coexists with unilateral renal aplasia, renal dysplasia, or renal aplasia with renal dysplasia, suggesting that these conditions may belong to a pathogenic continuum or phenotypic spectrum (summary by Joss et al., 2003; Humbert et al., 2014). Genetic Heterogeneity of Renal Hypodysplasia/Aplasia See also RHDA2 (615721), caused by mutation in the FGF20 gene (605558) on chromosome 8p22; RHDA3 (617805), caused by mutation in the GREB1L gene (617782) on chromosome 18q11; and RHDA4 (619887), caused by mutation in the GFRA1 gene (601496) on chromosome 10q25.

Vertebral, cardiac, renal, and limb defects syndrome-3 (VCRL3) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by severe cardiac and renal anomalies that are lethal in infancy, including hypoplastic or absent left ventricle, transposition of the great arteries, absent pulmonary trunk, and hypoplastic or absent kidneys. Patients also exhibit vertebral segmentation defects and shortening of the proximal long bones or micromelia (Szot et al., 2020). For a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of VCRL, see VCRL1 (617660).

Neurofacioskeletal syndrome with or without renal agenesis (NFSRA) is characterized by developmental delay and/or intellectual disability; corpus callosum hypoplasia or agenesis; facial dysmorphism, including upslanting palpebral fissures, broad nasal tip, and wide mouth; and skeletal abnormalities, including short stature, scoliosis, and flexion contractures, with broad fingertips and/or toes. Renal agenesis, unilateral or bilateral, has also been observed in some patients (Schneeberger et al., 2020).

Renal hypodysplasia/aplasia-4 (RHDA4) is characterized by bilateral renal agenesis, with severely reduced to absent amniotic fluid during pregnancy. Patients exhibit the Potter sequence, including flattened nose, ear anomalies, and receding chin, as well as limb contractures and joint dislocations in some patients (Arora et al., 2021; Al-Shamsi et al., 2022). For a general phenotypic description and discussion of genetic heterogeneity of renal hypoplasia/dysplasia, see RHDA1 (191830).