Two novel mutations of the arylsulfatase B gene in two Italian patients with severe form of mucopolysaccharidosis. Mutations in brief no. 127. Online.

Mucopolysaccharidosis type VI (MPS VI) or Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome, is a autosomal recessive disorder, due to the deficiency of the lysosomal enzyme N-acetylgalactosamine-4-sulfatase (arylsufatase B, ASB: EC 3.1.6.12). Three classical forms of the disease have been differentiated: severe, intermediate, mild. Mutational analysis of the ASB gene resulted in the identification of 30 ASB mutant alleles, each of which was found to be unique among unrelated patients, demonstrating a broad molecular heterogeneity of the disease. In this communication we present two novel mutant alleles in two severely affected subjects. Both alterations, the missense mutation G302R and the nonsense Q456X, were found in homozygosity and were confirmed by amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS) or restriction analysis. The missense G302R mutation concerns an amino acid which may be of special importance to the polypeptide, since 302 position is completely conserved in all the eukaryotic sulfatases aligned so far; the nonsense mutation Q456X leads to the translation of a putative mutant ASB protein lacking the last 78 amino acids with a loss of the 8 kD mature polypeptide, one of the two peptides generated by intralysosomal proteolytic processing of the 64kD precursor.