Mutations in the Δ7-sterol reductase gene in patients with the Smith–Lemli–Opitz syndrome

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.95.14.8181
• Publication Date: 2002-07-26T14:42:40Z
• Authors: Barbara U. Fitzky; Martina Witsch-Ba...; Martin Erdel; Joon No Lee; Young-Ki Paik; Hartmut Glossmann; Gerd Utermann; Fabian F. Moebius
• Keywords: Male; Oxidoreductases Acting on CH-CH Group Donors; 0303 health sciences; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 11; Molecular Sequence Data; Chromosome Mapping; Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome; Mice; 03 medical and health sciences; Mutation; Animals; Humans; Female; Amino Acid Sequence; Cloning, Molecular; Oxidoreductases; Sequence Alignment

The Smith–Lemli–Opitz syndrome (SLOS) is an inborn disorder of sterol metabolism with characteristic congenital malformations and dysmorphias. All patients suffer from mental retardation. Here we identify the SLOS gene as a Δ7-sterol reductase ( DHCR7 , EC 1.3.1.21 ) required for the de novo biosynthesis of cholesterol. The human and murine genes were characterized and assigned to syntenic regions on chromosomes 11q13 and 7F5 by fluorescense in situ hybridization. Among the mutations found in patients with the SLOS, are missense (P51S, T93M, L99P, L157P, A247V, V326L, R352W, C380S, R404C, and G410S), nonsense (W151X), and splice site (IVS8–1G>C) mutations as well as an out of frame deletion (720–735 del). The missense mutations L99P, V326L, R352W, R404C, and G410S reduced heterologous protein expression by >90%. Our results strongly suggest that defects in the DHCR7 gene cause the SLOS.