Loss of fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase is responsible for the neonatal hepatic dysfunction phenotype of lethal albino mice

M. Grompe, M. Al-Dhalimy, M. Finegold, C. N. Ou, T. Burlingame, N. G. Kennaway, P. Soriano

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314 Scopus citations

Abstract

Mice homozygous for the c(14CoS) albino deletion die as neonates as a result of liver dysfunction. Previous mapping studies have associated this defect with a 310-kb fragment encoding the hepatocyte-specific developmental regulation locus (alf/hsdr-1). The gene encoding fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase (Fah), a metabolic enzyme that catalyzes the last step of tyrosine catabolism, also maps to the same deletion interval. To test whether the neonatal defects found in the albino deletion mutants are attributable to loss of Fah, and not to another gene mapping to the deletion, we have generated Fah mutant mice by gene targeting in embryonic stem cells. Fah- deficient mice die within 12 hr after birth from hypoglycemia and liver dysfunction. In addition, the same pattern of altered liver mRNA expression found in the albino deletion mutants was also found in affected animals. We conclude that the neonatal lethal and liver dysfunction phenotype of the alf/hsdr-1 deletion is entirely attributable to loss of Fah.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2298-2307
Number of pages10
JournalGenes and Development
Volume7
Issue number12 A
DOIs
StatePublished - 1993
Externally publishedYes

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