Gene Technology

Abstract

Domain Wise Distribution of Mutations in Dystrophin Protein and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Angshuman Bagchi

Duchenne muscular dystrophy, the most common inherited X-linked recessive muscular dystrophy, affects 20000 new borns per year globally. Since its discovery in 1860, extensive research works have been carried out to understand the complex architecture of the disease formation. Reason behind the onset of the disease has been mapped back to the set of mutations of different types in dystrophin gene (DMD, 2.4 million bp), the largest gene in the body. Dystrophin (Dp), the cytosolic protein acts as the root of the complex which was primarily thought to link extracellular matrix with cellular actin cytoskeleton but later on has been associated with the stability of the cells, signal transduction as well as in proper development. In this review, we gathered the details of all the mutations occurring in DMD gene and observed that majority of the mutations are present in the N terminal Actin Binding Domain. Some of the mutations were found to be present in the Cysteine Rich Domain of the protein, reflecting the point that these two domains are the most mutation prone regions contributing to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) onset. This review therefore gives an integrative view describing the involvements of Dp in regulating the complexity of DMD disease with a future aspect to study the structural details of DMD genes along with its genetic variations.