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Congenital ichthyosis encompasses a heterogeneous group of disorders of cornification. Isolated forms and syndromic ichthyosis can be differentiated. We have analyzed two consanguineous families from the United Arab Emirates and Turkey with an autosomal recessive syndrome of diffuse congenital ichthyosis, patchy follicular atrophoderma, generalized and diffuse nonscarring hypotrichosis, marked hypohidrosis, and woolly hair (OMIM 602400). By genome-wide analysis, we found a homozygous interval on chromosome 11q24–q25 and obtained a LOD score of 4.0 at D11S910. We identified a homozygous splice-site mutation in the Arab patients and a frame-shift deletion in the Turkish patient in the gene suppression of tumorigenicity-14 (ST14). The product of ST14, matriptase, is a type II transmembrane serine protease synthesized in most human epithelia. Two missense mutations in ST14 were recently described in patients with a phenotype of ichthyosis and hypotrichosis, indicating diverse activities of matriptase in the epidermis and hair follicles. Here we have further demonstrated the loss of matriptase in differentiated patient keratinocytes, reduced proteolytic activation of prostasin, and disturbed processing of profilaggrin. As filaggrin monomers play a pivotal role in epidermal barrier formation, these findings reveal the link between congenital disorders of keratinization and filaggrin processing in the human skin.

Bazex-Dupré-Christol syndrome is an inherited condition with skin cancer predisposition characterized by follicular atrophoderma, hypotrichosis, and early onset of multiple basal cell carcinomas. Previous reports suggested an X-linked mode of inheritance. We therefore performed linkage analysis with microsatellite markers of the X chromosome in three families. We obtained evidence for X-linkage and regional assignment to Xq24-q27 of this syndrome (maximal lod score = 5.26 with a recombination fraction of 0% at the DXSl192 locus). This represents a first step towards the identification of a gene involved in hair follicle development and skin tumor formation.

A case of Conradi's disease (chondrodystrophia calcificans congenita, congenital stippled epiphyses) is reported in which the evolution of the disease was followed for 15 years. At birth the patient showed stippling of the epiphyses, abnormalities of the vertebral bodies, shortening of the right femur, bilateral congenital cataracts, saddle-nose deformity, and blotchy erythema of the skin and scalp. By the age of 6 months most of the epiphyseal stippling had disappeared and the vertebral column abnormalities had begun to produce kyphosis. By 15 years of age she had severe kyphoscoliosis, marked shortening of the right leg, short stature, cicatricial alopecia, coarse and lusterless hair, follicular atrophoderma, saddle-nose deformity, cataracts, irregular dentition, and low normal intelligence. Despite the early disappearance of epiphyseal stippling, recognition of the associated abnormalities may allow diagnosis of Conradi's disease in later life.

In 1943 Miescher (1) reported peculiar atrophic changes of the skin of body and scalp in a 7 year old Swiss girl. There were spots of atrophic alopecia on the scalp, and on the extremities and trunk irregular zones in which dimple-like depressions were found at the place of follicular orifices. The child was very small and had thoracic kyphoscoliosis, lumbar lordosis, luxation of the right hip, a considerably shortened right leg, and a moderately shortened left arm. Five years earlier, Burckhardt (2) has described the skeletal condition of the same child, then 2 years old, as chondrodystrophia foetalis calcarea. In the English speaking countries this disease is called chondrodystrophia calcificans congenita, chondro-osseous dystrophy with punctate epiphyseal dysplasia, or similar variations.