Analysis of the CYP21A2 gene with intergenic recombination and multiple gene deletions in the RCCX module.

The most frequent bimodular RCCX module of the RP1-C4A-CYP21A1P-TNXA-RP2-C4B-CYP21A2-TNXB gene sequence is located on chromosome 6p21.3. To determine RCCX alterations, we used the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) product containing the tenascin B (TNXB) and CYP21A2 genes with TaqI digestion and Southern blot analysis with AseI and NdeI endonuclease digestion of genomic DNA from congenital adrenal hyperplasia patients with common mutations resulting from an intergenic conversion of CYP21A1P, such as an I2 splice, I172N, V281L, F306-L307insT, Q318X, and R356W, and dual mutations of I236N/V237E in the CYP21A2 gene. The results showed that a 3.7-kb fragment of the CYP21A2 gene was detected in each case, and 21.6- and 11.3-kb DNA fragments were found in the RCCX region by a Southern blot analysis with these corresponding mutations. However, the IVS2-12A/C- > G (I2 splice) haplotype in combination with the 707-714delGAGACTAC (without the P30L mutation) mutation produced a 3.2-kb TaqI fragment in the PCR product analysis and a specific 9.3-kb fragment by the Southern blot method. Therefore, we concluded that the rearrangement in the RCCX region resulting from processing of either an intergenic recombination or multiple gene deletions can be identified by the PCR analysis and Southern blot method based on a fragment-distinguishing configuration without a family study.