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Trichothiodystrophy, a Human DNA Repair Disorder with Heterogeneity in the Cellular Response to Ultraviolet Light¹

MRC Cell Mutation Unit, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, Sussex BN1 9RR, United Kingdom [A. R. L., C. F. A., B. C. B., S. A. H., H. S.]; Instituto di Genetica Biochimica ed Evoluzionistica CNR, Via Abbiategrasso 207, I-27100, Pavia, Italy [M. S.]; Department of Cancer Studies, Medical School, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TJ, United Kingdom [A. M. R. T.]; Department of Radiation Genetics and Chemical Mutagenesis, University of Leiden, Wassenaarseweg 72, Leiden, The Netherlands [A. T. N.]; Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Yorkhill, Glasgow, United Kingdom [M. D. K., J. B. P. S.]; Department of Dermatology, University of Glasgow, 56 Dumbarton Road, Glasgow G11 6NU, United Kingdom [R. M. M.]; Institute of Child Health, Birmingham University, Francis Road, Birmingham B16 8ET, United Kingdom [S. G.]; Duncan Guthrie Institute of Medical Genetics, Yorkhill, Glasgow G3 8SJ, United Kingdom [J. L. T.]

Trichothiodystrophy (TTD) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by brittle hair with reduced sulfur content, ichthyosis, peculiar face, and mental and physical retardation. Some patients are photosensitive. A previous study by Stefanini et al. (Hum. Genet., 74: 107–112, 1986) showed that cells from four photosensitive patients with TTD had a molecular defect in DNA repair, which was not complemented by cells from xeroderma pigmentosum, complementation group D. In a detailed molecular and cellular study of the effects of UV light on cells cultured from three further TTD patients who did not exhibit photosensitivity we have found an array of different responses. In cells from the first patient, survival, excision repair, and DNA and RNA synthesis following UV irradiation were all normal, whereas in cells from the second patient all these responses were similar to those of excision-defective xeroderma pigmentosum (group D) cells. With the third patient, cell survival measured by colony-forming ability was normal following UV irradiation, even though repair synthesis was only 50% of normal and RNA synthesis was severely reduced. The excision-repair defect in these cells was not complemented by other TTD cell strains. These cellular characteristics of patient 3 have not been described previously for any other cell line. The normal survival may be attributed to the finding that the deficiency in excision-repair is confined to early times after irradiation. Our results pose a number of questions about the relationship between the molecular defect in DNA repair and the clinical symptoms of xeroderma pigmentosum and TTD.

¹ This work was supported in part by EC Contracts BI6.042.UK(H) and BI6.158.1.

² To whom requests for reprints should be addressed.

Received 5/ 3/88. Revised 7/25/88. Accepted 7/29/88.

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