Keratosis pilaris and ulerythema ophryogenes associated with an 18p deletion caused by a Y/18 translocation.

We present a patient with partial monosomy of the short arm of chromosome 18 caused by de novo translocation t(Y;18) and a generalized form of keratosis pilaris (keratosis pilaris affecting the skin follicles of the trunk, limbs and face-ulerythema ophryogenes). Two-color FISH with centromere-specific Y and 18 DNA probes identified the derivative chromosome 18 as a dicentric with breakpoints in p11.2 on both involved chromosomes. The patient had another normal Y chromosome. This is a third report the presence of a chromosome 18p deletion (and first case of a translocation involving 18p and a sex chromosome) with this genodermatosis. Our data suggest that the short arm of chromosome 18 is a candidate region for a gene causing keratosis pilaris. Unmasking of a recessive mutation at the disease locus by deletion of the wild type allele could be the cause of the recessive genodermatosis.