Molecular characterization of histidinemia: identification of four missense mutations in the histidase gene

Histidinemia (MIM235800) is characterized by elevated histidine in body fluids and decreased urocanic acid in blood and skin and results from histidase (histidine ammonia lyase, EC 4.3.1.3) deficiency. It is the most frequent inborn metabolic error in Japan. Although the original description included mental retardation and speech impairment, neonatal screening programs have identified the majority of histidinemic patients with normal intelligence. Molecular characteristics of histidase in histidinemia have not been determined, and cytogenetically visible deletions of 12q22-24.1 in which histidase gene resides have not been identified in histidinemic patients. In order to investigate whether individuals with this disorder have small deletions, additions, or point mutations in the histidase gene, we screened genomic DNA isolated from 50 histidinemic individuals who were discovered by the neonatal screening program. The methods employed included polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of exons 1-21 of the histidase gene, followed by mutation detection enhancement gel electrophoresis and sequencing of the PCR products displaying heteroduplex bands. Four missense mutations (R322P, P259L, R206T, and R208L), two exonic polymorphisms (T141T c.423A-->T and P259P c.777A-->G), and two intronic polymorphisms (IVS6-5T-->C and IVS9+25A-->G) were identified. The frequencies of each polymorphism estimated either by dot blot allele-specific oligonucleotide hybridization, restriction enzyme digestion, or direct sequencing of the PCR products amplified from 50 unrelated normal individuals were 0.28, 0.30, 0.40, and less than 0.01, respectively. Mutation analysis of one family demonstrated that the patient inherited R322P from the mother and P259L from the father. This report describes the first mutations occurring in the coding region of the histidase structural gene in patients with histidinemia.

An unusual N-terminal deletion of the laminin alpha3a isoform leads to the chronic granulation tissue disorder laryngo-onycho-cutaneous syndrome

Laryngo-onycho-cutaneous (LOC or Shabbir) syndrome (OMIM 245660) is an autosomal recessive epithelial disorder confined to the Punjabi Muslim population. The condition is characterized by cutaneous erosions, nail dystrophy and exuberant vascular granulation tissue in certain epithelia, especially conjunctiva and larynx. Genome-wide homozygosity mapping localized the gene to a 2 Mb region on chromosome 18q11.2 with an LOD score of 19.8 at theta=0. This region includes the laminin alpha3 gene (LAMA3), in which loss-of-expression mutations cause the lethal skin blistering disorder Herlitz junctional epidermolysis bullosa. Detailed investigation showed that this gene possesses a further 38 exons (76 exons in total) spanning 318 kb of genomic DNA, and encodes three distinct proteins, designated laminin alpha3a, alpha3b1 and alpha3b2. The causative mutation in 15 families was a frameshift mutation 151insG predicting a stop codon 7 bp downstream in an exon that is specific to laminin alpha3a. This protein is secreted only by the basal keratinocytes of stratified epithelia, implying that LOC is caused by dysfunction of keratinocyte-mesenchymal communication. Surprisingly, the 151insG mutation does not result in nonsense-mediated mRNA decay due to rescue of the transcript by an alternative translation start site 6 exons downstream. The resultant N-terminal deletion of laminin alpha3a was confirmed by immunoprecipitation of secreted proteins from LOC keratinocytes. These studies show that the laminin alpha3a N-terminal domain is a key regulator of the granulation tissue response, with important implications not only in LOC but in a range of other clinical conditions associated with abnormal wound healing.