Scientific Publications by FDA Staff

Am J Med Genet 2002 Oct 15;112(3):291-6

The mutational spectrum of brachydactyly type C.

Everman DB, Bartels CF, Yang Y, Yanamandra N, Goodman FR, Mendoza-Londono JR, Savarirayan R, White SM, Graham JM Jr, Gale RP, Svarch E, Newman WG, Kleckers AR, Francomano CA, Govindaiah V, Singh L, Morrison S, Thomas JT, Warman ML

Growth/differentiation factor-5 (GDF5), also known as cartilage-derived morphogenetic protein-1 (CDMP-1), is a secreted signaling molecule that participates in skeletal morphogenesis. Heterozygous mutations in GDF5, which maps to human chromosome 20, occur in individuals with autosomal dominant brachydactyly type C (BDC). Here we show that BDC is locus homogeneous by reporting a GDF5 frameshift mutation segregating with the phenotype in a family whose trait was initially thought to map to human chromosome 12. We also describe heterozygous mutations in nine additional probands/families with BDC and show nonpenetrance in a mutation carrier. Finally, we show that mutant GDF5 polypeptides containing missense mutations in their active domains do not efficiently form disulfide-linked dimers when expressed in vitro. These data support the hypothesis that BDC results from functional haploinsufficiency for GDF5.