Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 12, 2026

07:53
Quantification of Colonic Stem Cell Mutations
Published on: September 25, 2015
7.0K
Blue Diaper Syndrome and PCSK1 Mutations
Felix Distelmaier1, Diran Herebian2, Claudia Atasever3
1Department of General Pediatrics, Neonatology and Pediatric Cardiology, University Children's Hospital Duesseldorf, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany; felix.distelmaier@med.uni-duesseldorf.de.
Pediatrics
|April 4, 2018
Summary
Blue diaper syndrome (BDS), a rare disorder causing blue urine spots, is now linked to mutations in the PCSK1 gene. This discovery offers new insights into the genetic causes of this condition.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Genetics
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Blue diaper syndrome (BDS) is an extremely rare genetic disorder characterized by bluish urine spots in infants.
- Previous hypotheses suggested an intestinal tryptophan absorption defect, but lacked functional evidence and a genetic cause.
Observation:
- A patient presented with neonatal-onset diarrhea, metabolic acidosis, hypoglycemia, and blue-stained diapers.
- Urine analysis confirmed indigo derivatives, diagnosing BDS.
- The visibility of indigo derivatives was pH-dependent.
Findings:
- Whole-exome sequencing identified a homozygous frameshift mutation in the proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 1 (PCSK1) gene.
- This mutation (c.679del, p.[Val227Leufs*12]) suggests PCSK1 as a novel genetic cause of BDS.
- PCSK1 encodes prohormone convertase 1/3, previously linked to malabsorptive diarrhea and endocrine dysfunction.
Implications:
- This study establishes a genetic link between PCSK1 mutations and Blue Diaper Syndrome.
- It expands the known spectrum of PCSK1-related disorders.
- Provides a potential diagnostic target for infants presenting with BDS symptoms.
Related Concept Videos
Mutations
94.6K
Overview
94.6K
Mutations
44.7K
Mutations are changes in the sequence of DNA. These changes can occur spontaneously or they can be induced by exposure to environmental factors. Mutations can be characterized in a number of different ways: whether and how they alter the amino acid sequence of the protein, whether they occur over a small or large area of DNA, and whether they occur in somatic cells or germline cells.
Chromosomal Alterations Are Large-Scale Mutations
While point mutations are changes in a single nucleotide in...
Chromosomal Alterations Are Large-Scale Mutations
While point mutations are changes in a single nucleotide in...
44.7K
Viral Mutations
40.0K
A mutation is a change in the sequence of bases of DNA or RNA in a genome. Some mutations occur during replication of the genome due to errors made by the polymerase enzymes that replicate DNA or RNA. Unlike DNA polymerase, RNA polymerase is prone to errors because it is not capable of “proofreading” its work. Viruses with RNA-based genomes, like HIV, therefore accrue mutations faster than viruses with DNA-based genomes. Because mutation and recombination provide the raw material...
40.0K
Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift
64.6K
In a population that is not at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the frequency of alleles changes over time. Therefore, any deviations from the five conditions of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium can alter the genetic variation of a given population. Conditions that change the genetic variability of a population include mutations, natural selection, non-random mating, gene flow, and genetic drift (small population size).
64.6K
Point and Frameshift Mutations
1.2K
Point mutations are genetic alterations involving the change of a single nucleotide base pair in DNA. Depending on how the alteration affects protein synthesis, they can lead to various consequences.Point mutations fall into the following types:Silent mutations occur when a nucleotide change does not alter the amino acid sequence due to the redundancy of the genetic code. For instance, changing ACC to ACA still encodes threonine, leaving the protein function unaffected. This occurs because...
1.2K
Mutations in Microorganisms
780
Mutations are heritable changes in an organism’s genome involving alterations in the base sequence of DNA or RNA. These changes can influence cellular processes and phenotypic traits, potentially transforming the unaltered wild type into a mutant form. Such changes, termed forward mutations, are pivotal in shaping the genetic diversity of organisms.RNA viruses exhibit the highest mutation rates due to the absence of robust proofreading mechanisms during genome replication. In contrast,...
780

