Haemophilia B caused by a missense mutation in the prepeptide sequence of factor IX

In the course of analysing mutation in the factor IX gene from 200 haemophilia B patients in Sweden and the UK, we have identified one patient with a prepeptide missense mutation. He has severe, antigen negative haemophilia, and complete analysis of his coding sequence reveals a single base transversion (A-->T) causing substitution of isoleucine by asparagine at position -30. This change disrupts the hydrophobic core of the prepeptide, a feature which is required for secretion. Thus, haemophilia in this patient is caused by a failure to secrete factor IX from the hepatocytes.