Summary
Background
Hereditary hypertrichosis (HH) is characterized by excessive hair growth on various body areas, which is independent of the individual's age. This rare hair disorder has been classified by its origin (genetic or acquired), age of onset, breadth of hair distribution (universal or localized) and the affected body areas. HH is often linked to several additional congenital abnormalities involving teeth, heart and bones. Human HH is associated with heterozygous genomic duplications and deletions in the chromosomal region 17q24.2–q24.3, containing genes such as ABCA5, ABCA6, ABCA10 and MAP2K6. Recently, a homozygous splice‐site variant in ABCA5 has been reported to cause autosomal recessive congenital generalized hypertrichosis terminalis (CGHT; OMIM 135400).
Aim
To investigate the clinical and genetic basis of autosomal recessive hypertrichosis in a large consanguineous Pakistani family.
Methods
In the present study, we characterized a family of Pakistani origin segregating CGHT in an autosomal recessive pattern, using whole exome sequencing followed by Sanger sequencing
Results
We identified a novel 2‐bp intragenic deletion [NM_172232.4(ABCA5);c.977_978delAT] causing a frameshift variant (p.His326ArgfsTer5) in ABCA5.
Conclusions
To our knowledge, this is the first intragenic deletion in ABCA5 underlying CGHT. The findings further validate the involvement of ABCA5 in hair development. The study will facilitate genetic counselling of families carrying CGHT‐related features in Pakistani and other populations.
Purpose Systemic auto-inflammatory diseases are a diverse group of heterogeneous disorders resulting in development of the systemic inflammation in absence of the inflammatory induction. Sequence variants in the OTULIN gene, which disrupts its ubiquitination activity lead to auto-inflammation, panniculitis, and dermatosis syndrome. To date, only few disease-causing variants in the OTULIN have been reported.In the study, presented here, sequence analysis of the OTULIN gene in a patient, exhibiting features of OTULIN-related auto-inflammatory syndrome (ORAS), revealed a novel disease-causing missense variant p.(Thr312Met). Further, effect of the variant on structure and function of the OTULIN protein has been examined using in silico OTULINWT and OTULINT312M. Methods Cells, collected from the patient blood, were examined by flow cytometry. Search for the disease-causing variants was carried out using exome followed by Sanger sequencing. Effect of the sequence variant on structure of the mutated protein was studied using in-silico analyses. Results Flow cytometry analysis revealed slightly reduced number of lymphocytes, marked leukocytosis, and mildly increased levels of IgG. Whole exome sequencing coupled with Sanger sequencing revealed a homozygous missense variant [c.935C>T; p.(Thr312Met)] in the OTULIN gene. In-silico analyses revealed that the missense variant reduces OTULIN’s expression and promotes accumulation of LUBAC-linked UB chains leading to auto-inflammation.Conclusion Taken together, OTULIN may act as a novel therapeutic target for the development of immunomodulatory drugs that may potentially increase or stabilize their expression. Targeting more components of the Ub-proteasome pathway may provide new opportunities for therapeutic exploitation and drug discovery.
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