Erroneous assignment of Gaucher disease genotype as a consequence of a complete gene deletion

Two sisters with moderately severe Gaucher disease were diagnosed as having the usually relatively benign 1226G/1226G genotype by examination of DNA amplified from exon 9, where this mutation is located. Because of the discrepancy between the apparent genotype and the phenotype, we suspected that one of the alleles had not amplified. Therefore, the DNA of both parents was examined. The father was heterozygous for the 1226G mutation but the mother did not have this abnormality. It was shown that the mother and both daughters had a deletion of the glucocerebrosidase gene: only about one-half of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification product of the glucocerebrosidase gene in this region was found, compared to internal controls consisting of the glucocerebrosidase pseudogene and of the adjacent liver pyruvate kinase (PKLR) gene. The appearance of Southern blots developed with full length glucocerebrosidase cDNA probes showed that the band unique to the functional glucocerebrosidase gene had reduced intensity, and no abnormal bands were present after digestion with any restriction endonuclease, indicating that the entire coding region was deleted.