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  • The phenotype of human STK4...
    Abdollahpour, Hengameh; Appaswamy, Giridharan; Kotlarz, Daniel; Diestelhorst, Jana; Beier, Rita; Schäffer, Alejandro A.; Gertz, E. Michael; Schambach, Axel; Kreipe, Hans H.; Pfeifer, Dietmar; Engelhardt, Karin R.; Rezaei, Nima; Grimbacher, Bodo; Lohrmann, Sabine; Sherkat, Roya; Klein, Christoph

    Blood, 04/2012, Volume: 119, Issue: 15
    Journal Article

    We describe a novel clinical phenotype associating T- and B-cell lymphopenia, intermittent neutropenia, and atrial septal defects in 3 members of a consanguineous kindred. Their clinical histories included recurrent bacterial infections, viral infections, mucocutaneous candidiasis, cutaneous warts, and skin abscesses. Homozygosity mapping and candidate gene sequencing revealed a homozygous premature termination mutation in the gene STK4 (serine threonine kinase 4, formerly having the symbol MST1). STK4 is the human ortholog of Drosophila Hippo, the central constituent of a highly conserved pathway controlling cell growth and apoptosis. STK4-deficient lymphocytes and neutrophils exhibit enhanced loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and increased susceptibility to apoptosis. STK4 deficiency is a novel human primary immunodeficiency syndrome.