PCR-SSCP analysis of the type VII collagen gene (COL7A1): Detection of a point mutation in five patients
- and others
Type VII collagen is the major component of anchoring fibrils, structures which extend below the lamina densa of the epidermal basement membrane in stratified squamous epithelia. Genetic linkage studies and two mutation reports have implicated the type VII collagen gene, COL7A1, in dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB), an inherited disorder characterized by blistering and scarring of the skin and mucous membranes after minor trauma. We have used PCR-SSCP of genomic DNA to screen exons of COL7A1 for mutations in recessive DEB patients. Band mobility shifts were detected in exon FN4-B in five patients. Sequencing revealed a C to T transition changing a codon for arginine into a stop codon, homozygous in two related patients and heterozygous in the others. We are currently searching for a second mutation in these three heterozygous patients who are presumably genetic compounds. Screening for an informative Xho I restriction site altered by the mutation showed parental heterozygosity but no evidence for the mutation in 50 normal chromosomes. Segregation of COL7A1 markers in these patients suggests that the mutation has arisen independently in at least two of our families. The premature stop mutation in the 5{prime} end of the gene predicts a severely shortened collagen VII molecule. The homozygote formation of anchoring fibrils would be impaired providing an explanation at the molecular level for the ultrastructural findings of reduced numbers or absence of anchoring fibrils in this disease. In conclusion, these data strongly suggest that this novel premature stop mutation is the cause of DEB in the homozygotes and contributes to the disease in the other patients. The important role of anchoring fibrils in dermal-epidermal adhesion is also underlined.
- OSTI ID:
- 134202
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-941009-; ISSN 0002-9297; TRN: 95:005313-0938
- Journal Information:
- American Journal of Human Genetics, Vol. 55, Issue Suppl.3; Conference: 44. annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics, Montreal (Canada), 18-22 Oct 1994; Other Information: PBD: Sep 1994
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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