A four-nucleotide deletion in the human DLX3 gene is etiologic for the human hereditary tricho-dento-osseous (TDO) ectodermal dysplasia, a dominant syndrome characterized by abnormalities in hair, nails, teeth, and bones.
Tricho-dento-osseous syndrome (TDO) is a rare type of dominantly inherited ectodermal dysplasia so far described only in a few families and associated with 3 known mutations in the DLX3 homeobox gene.
In humans, a frameshift mutation in the coding sequence of the DLX3 gene results in an ectodermal dysplasia called Tricho-Dento-Osseous syndrome (TDO).
Dlx3 and p63 act as part of the transcriptional regulatory pathways relevant in ectoderm derivatives, and autosomal mutations in either of these genes are associated with human EDs.