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Title: Three RFLPs defining a haplotype associated with the common mutation in a human medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) deficiency occur in Alu repeats

Journal Article · · American Journal of Human Genetics; (United States)
OSTI ID:6310325
; ; ;  [1]; ;  [2]
  1. Washington Univ., St. Louis, MO (United States) St. Louis Children's Hospital, MO (United States)
  2. Univ. of Aarhus (Denmark)

Medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) deficiency is a common inborn error of fatty-acid oxidation and may cause sudden infant death. Previous studies revealed that (i) homozygosity for an A-to-G mutation at nucleotide 985 of the mRNA coding region (A985G) is an extremely common cause of MCAD deficiency and (ii) MCAD deficiency is strongly associated with a particular haplotype for RFLPs for BanII, PstI, and TaqI. TaqI allele 2 is always associated with the A985G mutation in human MCAD deficiency. In this study, the authors have delineated the molecular basis of the RFLPs for PstI, BamHI, and TaqI in the human MCAD gene. Their results prove that the three RFLPs are caused by point mutations in the 8 kb of DNA encompassing exons 8--10 of the human MCAD gene. The TaqI polymorphism is caused by a C-to-A substitution 392 bp upstream of the exon 8, and the PstI and BamHI polymorphisms are due to T-to-C and G-to-A substitutions, respectively, which are 727 and 931 bp downstream of exon 10, respectively. All three RFLPs lie within Alu repetitive sequences. Comparison of intronic sequences immediately following exon 10 from two normal individuals with different haplotypes showed that this region contains densely packed Alu repeats and is highly polymorphic. The results are consistent both with a founder effect as the cause of the high prevalence of a single (A985G) mutation in MCAD deficiency and with its association with a particular haplotype for these intragenic RFLPs. 27 refs., 6 figs., 1 tab.

OSTI ID:
6310325
Journal Information:
American Journal of Human Genetics; (United States), Vol. 52:6; ISSN 0002-9297
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English