Chuvash polycythemia is an autosomal recessive form of erythrocytosis associated with a homozygous p.Arg200Trp mutation in the von Hippel-Lindau (<i>VHL</i>) gene.
Homozygotes or compound heterozygotes for the R200W germline mutation in VHL have Chuvash polycythemia, whereas heterozygous carriers are free of disease.
The most common germline mutation identified in the hypoxia signaling pathway is the Arginine 200-Tryptophan mutant of the von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor gene, resulting in Chuvash polycythemia.
Systemic administration of a highly selective JAK2 inhibitor, TG101209, reversed the disease phenotype in Vhl(R200W/R200W) knock-in mice, an experimental model that recapitulates human Chuvash polycythemia.
Chuvash polycythemia, the first hereditary disease associated with dysregulated oxygen-sensing to be recognized, is characterized by a homozygous germ-line loss-of-function mutation of the VHL gene (VHL(R200W)) resulting in elevated hypoxia inducible factor (HIF)-1alpha and HIF-2alpha levels, increased red cell mass and propensity to thrombosis.
A homozygous mutation (C598T->Arg200Trp) in the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) gene was originally identified as the cause of the endemic Chuvash polycythemia.
It was recently found that homozygosity for the VHL Arg200Trp mutation is the cause of Chuvash polycythemia, an autosomal recessive polycythemic disorder characterized by elevated serum Epo and hypersensitivity of erythroid cells to Epo.