Syndromic congenital sensorineural deafness, microtia and microdontia resulting from a novel homoallelic mutation in fibroblast growth factor 3 ( )

We identified a homozygous missense mutation (c.196G → T) in fibroblast growth factor 3 ( FGF3) in 21 affected individuals from a large extended consanguineous Saudi family, phenotypically characterized by autosomal recessive syndromic congenital sensorineural deafness, microtia and microdontia. All affected family members are descendents of a common ancestor who had lived six generations ago in a geographically isolated small village. This is the second report of FGF3 involvement in syndromic deafness in humans, and independently confirms the gene's positive role in inner ear development. The c.196G → T mutation results in substitution of glycine by cysteine at amino acid 66 (p.G66C). This residue is conserved in several species and across 18 FGF family members. Conserved glycine/proline residues are central to the ‘ β -trefoil fold’ characteristic of the secondary structure of FGF family proteins and substitution of these residues is likely to disrupt structure and consequently function.