The cumulative effect of compound heterozygous variants in TRPV3 caused Olmsted syndrome

Olmsted syndrome (OS) is a rare genodermatosis predominantly inherited in an autosomal dominant manner, typically arising from gain-of-function (GOF) variants in the transient receptor potential channel vanilloid 3 (TRPV3) gene.

This study aims to investigate potential mechanisms underlying OS in two cases presenting with an autosomal recessive inheritance pattern.

Next-generation sequencing panel was employed to identify TRPV3 variants. TRPV3 plasmids carrying specific point variations were generated and transiently transfected into HEK293T cells. Electrophysiological patch-clamp techniques were utilized to record voltage-activated and ligand-activated currents. Celltiter-Glo luminescent assay was employed to analyze the cell viabilities.

Compound heterozygous variants, c.1563 G>C (p.W521C) and c.1376 C>T (p.S459L), as well as c.1773 G>C (p.L591F) and c.2186 G>A (p.R729Q), were identified in the two OS patients respectively. Electrophysiological analysis of ligand-induced activation of TRPV3 variants demonstrated the closest correlation with clinical manifestations. All four variants displayed GOF channel activity characterized by increased sensitivity. Notably, W521C and L591F exhibited both heightened sensitivity and lower EC50 values for the TRPV3 agonist. Co-transfection with wild-type TRPV3 plasmids significantly rescued these effects. Cells co-transfected with the corresponding compound heterozygous variants exhibited intermediate electrophysiological characteristics.

In this study, we present two cases of OS by autosomal-recessive inheritance of TPRV3 variants. This study presents a notable observation of compound heterozygous GOF variants in TRPV3, highlighting their cumulative impact on clinical manifestations. Additionally, we advocate for the use of ligand-dependent ion channel activity assays to assess the pathogenicity of TRPV3 variants in OS.