Refinement of the multiple exostoses locus (EXT2) to a 3-cM interval on chromosome 11

Hereditary multiple exostoses (EXT) is an autosomal dominant skeletal disorder characterized by the formation of multiple exostoses on the long bones. EXT is genetically heterogeneous, with at least three loci involved: one (EXT1) in the Langer-Giedion region on 8q23-q24, a second (EXT2) in the pericentromeric region of chromosome 11, and a third (EXT3) on chromosome 19p. In this study, linkage analysis in seven extended EXT families, all linked to the EXT2 locus, refined the localization of the EXT2 gene to a 3-cM region flanked by D11S1355 and D11S1361/D11S554. This implies that the EXT2 gene is located at the short arm of chromosome 11, in band 11p11-p12. The refined localization of EXT2 excludes a number of putative candidate genes located in the pericentromeric region of chromosome 11 and facilitates the process of isolating the EXT2 gene.