Oculocutaneous albinism type 1 (OCA1) results from mutations in the tyrosinase gene, which lead to partial or complete loss of activity of the corresponding enzyme.
A novel type I OCA phenotype in which hypopigmentation is related to local body temperature is associated with a missense substitution in tyrosinase, codon 422 CGG (Arg)----CAG (Gln).
Although tyrosinase mutations of OCA1 have been extensively analyzed in most populations worldwide, there is no systemic study of OCA1 mutation in Chinese patients.
Functional characterization of nonsynonymous tyrosinase variants in patients with OCA1 reported in the Albinism Database, dbSNP and the published literature, and an attempt to correlate them with reported and predicted phenotypes.
However, the complete deglycosylation of asparagine residues in vitro, including the residue in position 371, interrupts tyrosinase function, which is consistent with a melanin loss in oculocutaneous albinism type 1 (OCA1) patients.
Identification of active site residues involved in metal cofactor binding and stereospecific substrate recognition in Mammalian tyrosinase. Implications to the catalytic cycle.
In this report we present 5 additional mutations of the tyrosinase gene associated with type I-A OCA in four individuals, including 2 missense, 1 frameshift and 2 nonsense mutations, and review the relevant literature on all published mutations.
Mutations in the TYR gene (TYR, 11q14-21, MIM 606933) cause oculocutaneous albinism type 1 (OCA1, MIM 203100), a developmental disorder having an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance.
Taken together, these data show that OCAI soluble tyrosinase is an ER-associated degradation substrate that, unlike other albino tyrosinases, associates with calreticulin and BiP/GRP78.