Novel mutation in ATP2C1 gene in a Japanese patient with Hailey-Hailey disease

Hailey-Hailey disease (HHD) is an autosomal dominant disorder with recurrent eruption of vesicles and bullae involving predominantly the neck, groin and axillary regions. Histopathology shows suprabasal cleavage in epidermal cells. Recent studies have revealed that HHD is caused by mutations in the ATP2C1 gene encoding a novel Ca(2+) pump. We analyzed mutations of the ATP2C1 gene in 2 Japanese patients with HHD. The diagnosis of HHD was made based on the characteristic clinical features and histopathological evidence. All 27 exons and flanking intron boundaries were amplified by polymerase chain reaction and products analyzed by sequencing. As a result, we identified a novel missense mutation (A1087G) in exon 13 of the ATP2C1 gene in a patient. This mutation led the amino acid change from Thrto Ala in the phosphorylation protein domain. Another patient showed no mutation of the gene. These results demonstrate that a spectrum of ATP2C1 gene mutations is present in Japanese HHD patients.