A mutation in the XPB/ERCC3 DNA repair transcription gene, associated with trichothiodystrophy

Journal Article · Sat Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 1997 · American Journal of Human Genetics

OSTI ID:518511

Weeda, G; Donker, I; Vermeulen, W ^[1]

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1. Erasmus Univ., Rotterdam (Netherlands); and others

Trichothiodystrophy (TTD) is a rare, autosomal recessive disorder characterized by sulfur-deficient brittle hair and nails, mental retardation, impaired sexual development, and ichthyosis. Photosensitivity has been reported in {approximately}50% of the cases, but no skin cancer is associated with TTD. Virtually all photosensitive TTD patients have a deficiency in the nucleotide excision repair (NER) of UV-induced DNA damage that is indistinguishable from that of xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) complementation group D (XP-D) patients. DNA repair defects in XP-D are associated with two additional, quite different diseases; XP, a sun-sensitive and cancer-prone repair disorder, and Cockayne syndrome (CS), a photosensitive condition characterized by physical and mental retardation and wizened facial appearance. One photosensitive TTD case constitutes a new repair-deficient complementation group, TTD-A. Remarkably, both TTD-A and XP-D defects are associated with subunits of TFIIH, a basal transcription factor with a second function in DNA repair. Thus, mutations in TFIIH components may, on top of a repair defect, also cause transcriptional insufficiency, which may explain part of the non-XP clinical features of TTD. To date, three patients with the remarkable conjunction of XP and CS but not TM have been assigned to XP complementation group B (XP-B). Here we present the characterization of the NER defect in two mild TTD patients (TTD6VI and TTD4VI) and confirm the assignment to X-PB. The causative mutation was found to be a single base substitution resulting in a missense mutation (T119P) in a region of the XPB protein. These findings define a third TTD complementation group, extend the clinical heterogeneity associated with XP-B, stress the exclusive relationship between TTD and mutations in subunits of repair/transcription factor TFIIH, and strongly support the concept of {open_quotes}transcription syndromes.{close_quotes} 46 refs., 6 figs., 2 tabs.

• OSTI ID: 518511
• Journal Information: American Journal of Human Genetics, Journal Name: American Journal of Human Genetics Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 60; ISSN AJHGAG; ISSN 0002-9297
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

55 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
BASIC STUDIES
56 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
APPLIED STUDIES
DNA
DNA REPAIR
GENE MUTATIONS
GENES
GENETIC EFFECTS
HEREDITARY DISEASES
MENTAL DISORDERS
NUCLEOTIDES
PATIENTS
PHOTOSENSITIVITY
RECESSIVE MUTATIONS
SKIN DISEASES
SOMATIC CELLS
TRANSCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS
ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION