Relationship of the genes for Chediak-Higashi syndrome (beige) and the T-cell receptor [gamma] chain in mouse and man

Abstract

The genetic linkage of Chediak-Higashi syndrome and its murine analog, beige (bg), to the T-cell receptor (TCR-[gamma]) [gamma] chain gene is further defined. Previous studies using recombinant inbred strains of mice demonstrated that the murine bg gene is genetically linked to a murine TCR-[gamma] gene. We report that in the mouse the frequency of recombination between these two markers is 0.025. Further, we tested the hypothesis that these two genes are linked in the human genome by analyzing restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) in five families with children afflicted with Chediak-Higashi syndrome. In three families, RFLPs in TCR-[gamma] genes were inherited discordantly from Chediak-Higashi syndrome, demonstrating nonlinkage. We postulate that there is an evolutionary chromosomal breakpoint between the bg gene and the TCR-[gamma] gene.