A novel variant in the GJB6 gene in a large Chinese family with a unique phenotype of Clouston syndrome
Hequn Huang1,2,3, Mengyun Chen1,2,3, Xia Liu4, Xixi Xiong5, Lanbo Zhou5, Zhonglan Su5, Yan Lu5(), Bo Liang1,2,3,6()
1. Institute of Dermatology and Department of Dermatology, the First Affiliated Hospital, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230000, China 2. Key Laboratory of Dermatology (Anhui Medical University), Ministry of Education, Hefei 230000, China 3. Inflammation and Immune Mediated Diseases Laboratory of Anhui Province, Hefei 230000, China 4. Huai’an District Skin Disease Prevention and Treatment Hospital, Huai’an 223000, China 5. Department of Dermatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210000, China 6. Department of Clinical Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230000, China
Clouston syndrome (OMIM #129500), also known as hidrotic ectodermal dysplasia type 2, is a rare autosomal dominant skin disorder. To date, four mutations in the GJB6 gene, G11R, V37E, A88V, and D50N, have been confirmed to cause this condition. In previous studies, the focus has been mainly on gene sequencing, and there has been a lack of research on clinical manifestations and pathogenesis. To confirm the diagnosis of this pedigree at the molecular level and summarize and analyse the clinical phenotype of patients and to provide a basis for further study of the pathogenesis of the disease, we performed whole-exome and Sanger sequencing on a large Chinese Clouston syndrome pedigree. Detailed clinical examination included histopathology, hair microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. We found a novel heterozygous missense variant (c.134G>C:p.G45A) for Clouston syndrome. We identified a new clinical phenotype involving all nail needling pain in all patients and found a special honeycomb hole structure in the patients’ hair under scanning electron microscopy. Our data reveal that a novel variant (c.134G>C:p.G45A) plays a likely pathogenic role in this pedigree and highlight that genetic testing is necessary for the diagnosis of Clouston syndrome.
. [J]. Frontiers of Medicine, 2023, 17(2): 330-338.
Hequn Huang, Mengyun Chen, Xia Liu, Xixi Xiong, Lanbo Zhou, Zhonglan Su, Yan Lu, Bo Liang. A novel variant in the GJB6 gene in a large Chinese family with a unique phenotype of Clouston syndrome. Front. Med., 2023, 17(2): 330-338.
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