There are several forms of hereditary human hair loss, known collectively as alopecias, the molecular bases of which are entirely unknown. A kindred with a rare, recessively inherited type of alopecia universalis was used to search for a locus by homozygosity mapping, and linkage was established in a 6-centimorgan interval on chromosome 8p12 (the logarithm of the odds favoring linkage score was 6.19). The human homolog of a murine gene, hairless, was localized in this interval by radiation hybrid mapping, and a missense mutation was found in affected individuals. Human hairless encodes a putative single zinc finger transcription factor protein with restricted expression in the brain and skin.

The erythrokeratodermas (EKs) are a group of disorders characterized by erythematous plaques associated with variable features that include palmoplantar keratoderma. One type of EK is known as "progressive symmetric erythrokeratoderma" (PSEK). We studied members of a family of Japanese origin in which the index case with PSEK had had well-demarcated nonmigratory erythematous plaques on her extremities since birth. Sequence determination of the loricrin gene revealed an insertion of a C following nucleotide 709. The mutation results in a frameshift that changes the terminal 91 amino acids in the wild-type polypeptide into missense amino acids and adds 65 additional residues. This further implicates loricrin defects in the pathogenesis of disorders with palmoplantar keratoderma and pseudoainhum.