Loss of a Homologous Group of Proteins in a Dominantly Inherited Ectodermal Malformation

The study investigated the protein composition of hair from mice with the dominantly inherited Naked trait compared to normal mice. It was found that Naked-mouse hair had a decreased amount of soluble fibril, and while all protein bands present in normal mice were also present in Naked mice, the latter were deficient in several proteins rich in glycine (31%) and tyrosine (10%). Additionally, the mutant hair lacked a heterogeneous, low-molecular-weight fraction also rich in these amino acids. The study did not determine how a single gene locus affects the production of multiple proteins.