Diamond-Blackfan anemia pathophysiology
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Pathophysiology
Genetics
Approximately 10-25% of DBA cases have a family history of disease, and most pedigrees suggest an autosomal dominant mode of inheritance. The disease is characterized by genetic heterogeneity, with current evidence supporting the existence of at least three genes mutated in DBA. In 1997, a patient was identified who carried a rare balanced chromosomal translocation involving chromosome 19 and the X chromosome. This suggested that the affected gene might lie in one of the two regions that were disrupted by this cytogenetic anomaly. Linkage analysis in affected families also implicated this region in disease, and led to the cloning of the first DBA gene. About 20-25% of DBA cases are caused by mutations in the ribosome protein S19 (RPS19) gene on chromosome 19 at cytogenetic position 19q13.2. Interestingly, some previously undiagnosed relatives of DBA patients were found to carry mutations. These patients also had increased adenosine deaminase levels in their red blood cells but no other overt signs of disease. A subsequent study of families with no evidence of RPS19 mutations determined that 18 of 38 families showed evidence for involvement of an unknown gene on chromosome 8 at 8p23.3-8p22. The precise genetic defect in these families has not yet been delineated. In a further 7 families, both the chromosome 19 and chromosome 8 loci could be excluded for involvement, suggesting the existence of at least one other DBA locus in the human genome.