Folliculin (FLCN) is a tumor-suppressor protein mutated in the Birt-Hogg-Dubé (BHD) syndrome, which associates with two paralogous proteins, folliculin-interacting protein (FNIP)1 and FNIP2, forming a complex that interacts with the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK).
Genetic investigations revealed constitutional mutations in FLCN, associated with Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome (BHD) and CCM2, associated with familial cerebral cavernous malformation.
Pathology reports showed that the patients had lymph node metastasis in spite of small size of thyroid lesions.The 2 missense mutations, not reported previously, expand the mutation spectrum of FLCN gene associated with BHD syndrome.
The precise functions of the FLCN gene product are still under investigation but RCC from BHD patients show loss of the wild-type allele consistent with a tumor suppressor gene function.
Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome is a rare inherited cancer syndrome caused by a germline mutation in the folliculin (FLCN) gene, but the genetic causes for histologic diversity of renal tumors in Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome have not been elucidated.
The literature has reported cases diagnosed with familial PSP, who have no manifestations of Birt-Hogg-Dubé (BHD) syndrome but mutations in different exons of the Folliculin (FLCN) gene.
Identification of a novel genotype in BHDS will provide clues to the phenotype-genotype relations and may aid in explaining the molecular pathogenesis of diseases related to FLCN mutation.
Mutations in the FLCN gene are the cause of Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome, a rare tumor syndrome which is characterized by the combination of renal cell carcinoma, pneumothorax and skin tumors.
Germline H255Y and K508R missense mutations in the folliculin (FLCN) gene have been identified in patients with bilateral multifocal (BMF) kidney tumours and clinical manifestations of Birt-Hogg-Dubé (BHD) syndrome, or with BMF kidney tumours as the only manifestation; however, their impact on FLCN function remains to be determined.
Rare loss-of-function folliculin (FLCN) mutations are the genetic cause of Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome, a monogenic disorder characterized by spontaneous pneumothorax, fibrofolliculomas, and kidney tumors.
In this study, we report the identification of 13 variants and three polymorphisms in the FLCN gene in 143 Danish patients or families with suspected BHD syndrome.
Here, we show that the Drosophila homolog of FLCN, dFLCN (a.k.a. dBHD) localizes to the nucleolus and physically interacts with the 19S proteasomal ATPase, Rpt4, a nucleolar resident and known regulator of rRNA transcription.
It is known that mutation of FLCN can predispose Birt-Hogg-Dubé (BHD) patient's to renal cell carcinoma , renal and lung cysts, as well as skin fibrofolliculomas.
Previously, we localized the BHD locus (also known as FLCN) to chromosome 17p11.2 by linkage analysis and subsequently identified germline mutations in a novel gene in probands from eight of the nine families with BHD in our screening panel.
Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome (BHD) is a rare autosomal dominant disorder caused by mutations in the Folliculin gene and is characterized by the formation of fibrofolliculomas, early onset renal cancers, pulmonary cysts, and spontaneous pneumothoraces.
Our studies thus demonstrate that the FLCN-FNIP complex deregulated in BHD syndrome is absolutely required for B-cell differentiation, and that it functions through both mTOR-dependent and independent pathways.
Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome (BHDS) is an autosomal dominant genodermatosis characterized by the presence of three skin tumors (fibrofolliculomas, trichodiscomas, and acrochordons), together with an increased risk for other tumors, especially renal tumors, caused by a mutation in folliculin, an oncogene suppressor protein.
Birt-Hogg-Dubé (BHD) syndrome is a rare inherited autosomal genodermatosis and caused by germline mutation of the folliculin (FLCN) gene, a tumor suppressor gene of which protein product is involved in mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway regulating cell growth and metabolism.
Recent studies suggest that clinical similarities between BHDS and TSC may be explained by FLCN and TSC proteins functioning on a common pathway, mammalian target of rapamycin.