For the first time HERC2 is associated with a human disease
Researchers from the research group in growth factors and cell differentiation at IDIBELL and the University of Barcelona (UB) have participated in an international study that has identified the genetic cause of developmental delay observed in Amish individuals in the USA. The research results have been published in the Journal of Medical Genetics.
Amish community
Amish is a religious community known for a simple and traditional style of life and for its reluctance to adopt modern amenities and technologies. The IDIBELL-UB researcher Jos- Luis Rosa explains that "in these communities there are high rates of inbreeding, making homozygous recessive diseases more frequent than in the general population".
Among the Amish community, the researchers have observed individuals with similar mental retardation observed in patients with Angelman syndrome: learning disabilities, speech impairment, movement disorders and characteristic behavioral patterns of hyperactivity. "We observed", explains Rosa, "that there must be a common genetic cause."
Genetic studies of fifteen individuals of Old Order Amish Community in Ohio identified a mutation in HERC2 gene. The result is an unstable protein that does not function properly.
Genetic counseling
These findings not only will be useful to study the pathophysiology of the retardation observed among members of the Amish community, but also will be a new tool in the field of genetic counseling.