A novel frame-shift deletion causing analbuminaemia in an Italian paediatric patient.

Background Analbuminaemia (OMIM #103600) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder manifested by the
absence or severe reduction of circulating serum albumin in homozygous or compound heterozygous subjects.
The trait is caused by a variety of mutations within the albumin gene.
Design We report here the clinical and molecular characterization of a new case of congenital analbuminaemia
in a 4-year-old Italian girl diagnosed on the basis of the low level of circulating albumin (= 10Æ0 g L)1). The
albumin gene was screened by single-strand conformation polymorphism and heteroduplex analysis and the
mutated region submitted to DNA sequencing.
Results The proband was found to be homozygous, and both parents heterozygous, for a novel deletion in exon
8 (c.920delT). The subsequent frame-shift should have given rise to a putative polypeptide chain of 304 amino
acid residues, which we could not identify in the proband’s serum.
Conclusions A novel analbuminaemia causing mutation was identified and characterized at the clinical level in a
child. The molecular diagnosis of the trait is based on the rapid localization of the mutation within the albumin
gene by single-strand conformation polymorphism and heteroduplex analysis, followed by DNA sequencing of
the mutated region.