Novel frameshift mutation of theDSRADgene in a Chinese family with dyschromatosis symmetrica hereditaria

A novel P53/POMC/Gαs/SASH1 autoregulatory feedback loop activates mutated SASH1 to cause pathologic hyperpigmentation

p53-Transcriptional-regulated proteins interact with a large number of other signal transduction pathways in the cell, and a number of positive and negative autoregulatory feedback loops act upon the p53 response. P53 directly controls the POMC/α-MSH productions induced by ultraviolet (UV) and is associated with UV-independent pathological pigmentation. When identifying the causative gene of dyschromatosis universalis hereditaria (DUH), we found three mutations encoding amino acid substitutions in the gene SAM and SH3 domain containing 1 (SASH1), and SASH1 was associated with guanine nucleotide-binding protein subunit-alpha isoforms short (Gαs). However, the pathological gene and pathological mechanism of DUH remain unknown for about 90 years. We demonstrate that SASH1 is physiologically induced by p53 upon UV stimulation and SASH and p53 is reciprocally induced at physiological and pathophysiological conditions. SASH1 is regulated by a novel p53/POMC/α-MSH/Gαs/SASH1 cascade to mediate melanogenesis. A novel p53/POMC/Gαs/SASH1 autoregulatory positive feedback loop is regulated by SASH1 mutations to induce pathological hyperpigmentation phenotype. Our study demonstrates that a novel p53/POMC/Gαs/SASH1 autoregulatory positive feedback loop is regulated by SASH1 mutations to induce pathological hyperpigmentation phenotype.

Mutational spectrum of the ADAR1 gene in dyschromatosis symmetrica hereditaria

Dyschromatosis symmetrica hereditaria (DSH) is a rare autosomal dominant cutaneous disorder characterized by a mixture of hyperpigmented and hypopigmented macules of various sizes on the extremities and caused by the mutations of adenosine deaminase acting on RNA1 (ADAR1) gene. We screened 14 unrelated families or sporadic cases for mutation in the full coding sequence of this gene. Eight novel heterozygous mutations of ADAR1 and four known mutations were identified, including four missense mutations (p.R26K, p.Y1192D, p.R916Q, p.R1155W), six frameshift mutations (p.N205fsX217, p.V211fsX217, p.V404fsX417, p.I914fsX927, p.L1053fsX1076, p.L1070fs1092), and two nonsense mutations (p.R474X, p.R1096X). Interestingly, we failed to detect any mutations of ADAR1 in one family. Including our data, there are now 93 different mutations reported in 105 independent patients that we have tabulated. From the review of clinical features in these reports, we found that the same mutation could lead to different phenotypes even in the same family and did not establish a clear correlation between genotypes and phenotypes. Finally this study is useful for functional studies of the protein and to define a diagnostic strategy for mutation screening of the ADAR1 gene.