Abstract
Menkes disease is a lethal–X linked recessive disorder associated with copper metabolism disturbance. We have recently mapped two chromosome breakpoints related to this disease in a 1 megabase yeast artificial chromosome contig at Xq13.3. We now report the construction of a phage contig and the isolation of candidate partial cDNAs for the Menkes disease gene. The candidate gene expresses an 8 kb message in all investigated tissues, and deletions were detected in 16% of 100 unrelated Menkes patients. The deduced partial protein sequence shared the GMTCXXC motif with bacterial metal resistance operons, suggesting a potential heavy metal binding protein. These findings should lead to more accurate prenatal diagnosis of this severe disease and a better understanding of the cellular homeostasis of essential heavy metals.
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Chelly, J., Tümer, Z., Tønnesen, T. et al. Isolation of a candidate gene for Menkes disease that encodes a potential heavy metal binding protein. Nat Genet 3, 14–19 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng0193-14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ng0193-14
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