Cloning of wrinkle-free, a previously uncharacterized mouse mutation, reveals crucial roles for fatty acid transport protein 4 in skin and hair development.
Wrinkle-free (wrfr) is a previously uncharacterized, spontaneous, autosomal recessive mouse mutation resulting in very tight, thick skin. wrfr mutant mice exhibit severe breathing difficulties secondary to their tight skin and die shortly after birth. This phenotype is strikingly similar to a very rare human genetic disorder, restrictive dermopathy. wrfr mutant mice display a defective skin barrier, which is normally imparted by the cornified envelope, a composite of protein and lipid that prevents loss of water from within and entry of potentially harmful substances from without. In addition, hair growth from grafted wrfr skin is impaired. Positional cloning of the wrfr mutation revealed a retrotransposon insertion into a coding exon of Slc27a4, the gene encoding fatty acid transport protein (FATP)4. FATP4 is the primary intestinal FATP and is thought to play a major role in dietary fatty acid uptake; it therefore is viewed as a target to prevent or reverse obesity. However, its function in vivo had not been determined. Our results demonstrate an unexpected yet critical role for FATP4 in skin and hair development and suggest Slc27a4 to be a candidate gene for restrictive dermopathy.
Moulson
Casey L
CL
Renal Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Martin
Daniel R
DR
Lugus
Jesse J
JJ
Schaffer
Jean E
JE
Lind
Anne C
AC
Miner
Jeffrey H
JH
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D017931:DNA Primers; D050612:Fatty Acid Transport Proteins; D006197:Hair / Q000196:embryology*; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012867:Skin / Q000196:embryology*
D002352:Carrier Proteins; D017931:DNA Primers; D050612:Fatty Acid Transport Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; C493571:SLC27A4 protein, human; C493572:Slc27a4 protein, mouse