Phenotype-specific adverse effects of XPD mutations on human prenatal development implicate impairment of TFIIH-mediated functions in placenta.

Mutations in XPD (ERCC2), XPB (ERCC3), and TTD-A (GTF2H5), genes involved in nucleotide excision repair and transcription, can cause several disorders including trichothiodystrophy (TTD) and xeroderma pigmentosum (XP). In this study, we tested the hypothesis that mutations in the XPD gene affect placental development in a phenotype-specific manner. To test our hypothesis and decipher potential biologic mechanisms, we compared all XPD-associated TTD (n=43) and XP (n=37) cases reported in the literature with respect to frequencies of gestational complications. Our genetic epidemiologic investigations of TTD and XP revealed that the exact genetic abnormality was relevant to the mechanism leading to gestational complications such as preeclampsia. Through structural mapping, we localized the preeclampsia-associated mutations to a C-terminal motif and the helicase surfaces of XPD, most likely affecting XPD's binding to cdk-activating kinase (CAK) and p44 subunits of transcription factor (TF) IIH. Our results suggested a link between TTD- but not XP-associated XPD mutations, placental maldevelopment and risk of pregnancy complications, possibly due to impairment of TFIIH-mediated functions in placenta. Our findings highlight the importance of the fetal genotype in development of gestational complications, such as preeclampsia. Therefore, future studies of genetic associations of preeclampsia and other placental vascular complications may benefit from focusing on genetic variants within the fetal DNA.