Summary
Protein S deficiency is an autosomal dominant disorder that results from mutations
in the PROS1 gene. Conventional mutation detection techniques fail to detect a pathogenic
PROS1 mutation in approximately 50% of cases. The present study investigates whether
large deletions of PROS1 are found in families where mutations in the PROS1 gene have
not been found despite sequencing. For this purpose, a dense set of SNP and microsatellite
markers were used in segregation analysis to identify deletions. Large deletions were
identified by this technique in three out of eight investigated families (38%). The
deletions encompassed at least 35 kb, 437 kb and 449 kb respectively. The deletions
were confirmed by quantitative PCR. Haplotype analysis showed that the three large
deletions and the five other disease haplotypes were all different. All of the eight
disease haplotypes co-segregated with protein S deficiency, but each of the five non-deletion
haplotypes were present also in normal individuals. In conclusion: Large deletions
of PROS1 are relatively common in protein S deficiency patients and screening for
large deletions in PROS1 mutation-negative individuals are therefore warranted.
Keywords
Deletion - mutation - protein S deficiency - PROS1