A novel substitution in keratin 10 in epidermolytic hyperkeratosis

Epidermolytic hyperkeratosis is characterized by tonofilament clumping, cytolysis, and blister formation in suprabasal keratinocytes. It has been shown that the tonofilament aggregates in these areas are composed of keratin 1 (K1) and keratin 10 (K10), and several K1 and K10 point mutations have been identified as the molecular basis of epidermolytic hyperkeratosis. In this report we identify a novel, single base pair substitution resulting in an amino acid exchange from tyrosine to serine at residue 14 within the conserved 1A region of K10 (Y14S). This A to C transversion in codon 160 was only present in the affected individual and was associated with a very severe disease phenotype. Our observations are in agreement with previous reports documenting that this tyrosine residue, located at the beginning of the rod domain of type I keratins, is particularly sensitive to amino acid substitutions, and that alterations in this residue can have deleterious effects on filament assembly and stability.