We identified 254 genes whose expression was associated with metastatic dissemination of cutaneous melanomas. These genes may shed light on the molecular mechanisms underlying poor prognosis in melanoma patients.
Pityriasis rubra pilaris (PRP) is a papulosquamous disorder phenotypically related to psoriasis. The disease has been occasionally shown to be inherited in an autosomal-dominant fashion. To identify the genetic cause of familial PRP, we ascertained four unrelated families affected by autosomal-dominant PRP. We initially mapped PRP to 17q25.3, a region overlapping with psoriasis susceptibility locus 2 (PSORS2 [MIM 602723]). Using a combination of linkage analysis followed by targeted whole-exome sequencing and candidate-gene screening, we identified three different heterozygous mutations in CARD14, which encodes caspase recruitment domain family, member 14. CARD14 was found to be specifically expressed in the skin. CARD14 is a known activator of nuclear factor kappa B signaling, which has been implicated in inflammatory disorders. Accordingly, CARD14 levels were increased, and p65 was found to be activated in the skin of PRP-affected individuals. The present data demonstrate that autosomal-dominant PRP is allelic to familial psoriasis, which was recently shown to also be caused by mutations in CARD14.
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