Detección de cambios conformacionales y mutaciones en el exón 8 del gen atp7b en pacientes cubanos con la enfermedad de Wilson

Wilson's disease is a hereditary disorder of autosomal recessive inheritance that can cause irreversible, potentially lethal lesions to liver and brain. Its molecular cause is the appearance of mutations in the atp7b gene. A total of 379 different disease-producing mutations are currently known, turning the molecular diagnosis of this disorder into a formidable challenge. The present study used single-strand conformational polymorphism for the detection of conformational changes in exon 8 of this gene. Two shifts distinct from the normal allele, denominated b and c, were detected and mapped to mutations L708P and 2304DupC in heterozygosis. Allelic frequencies for these mutations in 72 Cuban Wilson's disease patients were 2 and 0.7%, respectively.