ClinVar

Description

The L170F variant in the KRT6A gene has been reported previously in patients with pachyonychia congenita (PC) (Smith et al., 2005; Wilson et al., 2014). It was not observed in approximately 6,500 individuals of European and African American ancestry in the NHLBI Exome Sequencing Project, indicating it is not a common benign variant in these populations. This substitution occurs within a known hotspot region (helix initiation motif) that is highly conserved across all species and among all members of the keratin family. Many other pathogenic variants in patients with pachyonychia congenita have been reported in nearby residues (Q166P, I167S/N, N171Y/S/D/T/K, F174I/S/C/V/L) according to the Human Gene Mutation Database (Stenson et al., 2014). It is well established that keratin gene variants affecting the residues at the ends of the central rod domains of the keratin proteins (helix initiation and termination motifs) interfere with proper keratin intermediate filament assembly and function, resulting in hyperkeratosis (Chamcheu et al., 2011). In addition, the KRT6A gene has a low rate of benign missense variation with missense variants as a common mechanism of disease. Therefore, we consider L170F to be pathogenic.