Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene defects in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis.
OBJECTIVE
Because biliary tract lesions that resemble those of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) may occur in cystic fibrosis (CF), we examined the prevalence and influence of CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene mutations in PSC patients.


METHODS
Genomic DNA was analyzed in 29 consecutive PSC patients and in 115 healthy control individuals. A scanning method followed by direct DNA sequencing was used to scan the CFTR coding regions.


RESULTS
Four patients (13.8%) were heterozygous for a CFTR mutation, including a new putative severe CF-causing mutation (N782K), and three mild defects (L997F, D1270N, and S1235R). The comparison of PSC patients with healthy controls showed no significant difference in the frequency of CFTR mutations (P=0.415). In addition, two patients (6.9%) were heterozygous for the IVS8-5T allele, which is not significantly different from the 5-6%-prevalence in the general population. Unusual clinical features including a severe outcome in childhood, with a lethal outcome at age 22, and biliary aspergillosis were recorded in patients with a CFTR mutation.


CONCLUSIONS
The proportion of CF carriers is not significantly higher in PSC patients than in the general population. The possibility that CFTR mutations may contribute to a severe clinical course in PSC patients is worth further examining.
Service de Biochimie et de Génétique, AP-HP and INSERM U468, Hôpital Henri Mondor, 94010 Créteil, France. emmanuelle.girodon@im3.inserm.fr
Emmanuelle
E
Girodon
Damien
D
Sternberg
Olivier
O
Chazouillères
Cécile
C
Cazeneuve
Danielle
D
Huot
Yvon
Y
Calmus
Raoul
R
Poupon
Michel
M
Goossens
Chantal
C
Housset
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D015209:Cholangitis, Sclerosing / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D019005:Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator / Q000235:genetics*; D005091:Exons; D005260:Female; D017353:Gene Deletion; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007438:Introns; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012326:RNA Splicing / Q000235:genetics
C505032:CFTR protein, human; D019005:Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator