The 64Cu incorporation into uncloned fibroblast cultures from 16 Menkes disease mothers and 19 first and second degree female relatives was examined. The mean incorporation for the Menkes disease mothers (36.2 +/- 3.6 SEM) differed significantly from that of 25 normal subjects (21.7 +/- 0.9 SEM) suggesting the presence of a significant proportion of mutant cells. In addition, the results sugges...

Defects in the mammalian Menkes and Wilson copper transporting P-type ATPases cause severe copper homeostasis disease phenotypes in humans. Here, we find that DmATP7, the sole Drosophila orthologue of the Menkes and Wilson genes, is vital for uptake of copper in vivo. Analysis of a DmATP7 loss-of-function allele shows that DmATP7 is essential in embryogenesis, early larval development, and adul...

Menkes disease is a multi-systemic copper metabolism disorder caused by mutations in the X-linked ATP7A gene and characterized by progressive neurodegeneration and severe connective tissue defects. The ATP7A protein is a copper (Cu)-transporting ATPase expressed in all tissues and plays a critical role in the maintenance of copper homeostasis in cells of the whole body. ATP7A participates in co...

Menkes disease arises from a genetic impairment in copper transport. The gene responsible for the phenotype has been identified as a copper transporting ATPase ( ATP7A ). Recently, the protein encoded by the ATP7A gene has been localized to the Golgi complex. In order to investigate the role of the Menkes disease protein in copper transport, recombinant constructs containing both the full-lengt...

BACKGROUND The ATP7A gene encodes the ATP7A protein, which is a trans-Golgi network copper transporter expressed in the brain and other organs. Mutations in this gene cause disorders of copper metabolism, such as Menkes disease. Here we describe the novel and unusual mutation (p.T1048I) in the ATP7A gene of a child with Menkes disease. The mutation affects a conserved DKTGT1048 phosphorylation ...

Hypomyelination in developing brain is often accompanied by congenital metabolic disorders. Menkes kinky hair disease is an X-linked neurodegenerative disease of impaired copper transport, resulting from a mutation of the Menkes disease gene, a transmembrane copper-transporting p-type ATPase gene (ATP7A). In a macular mutant mouse model, the murine ortholog of Menkes gene (mottled gene) is muta...

Copper dependency in humans is most dramatically illustrated in Menkes disease, an X linked recessive copper deficiency disorder that is generally lethal in early childhood. 2 Menkes disease is caused by mutations in a transmembrane copper transporting P type ATPase, MNK (or ATP7A), which is expressed in virtually all non-hepatic tissues. Studies using cultured cells suggest that MNK is located...

The 64Cu incorporation into fibroblast clones obtained from three obligate and three suspected Menkes disease heterozygotes was studied. For each obligate heterozygote, two clonal cell populations were observed, one with a Menkes phenotype and one with a normal phenotype, as predicted by the Lyon hypothesis. The cloning results suggested a heterozygous state in two of the suspected carriers. Th...

Menkes disease is a rare, autosomal recessive disorder characterized by neuronal degeneration, abnormal hair, malformed connective tissue, mental retardation, and a life span of three years. Previously reported dental findings include a high arched palate, delayed eruption of secondary dentition, and open bite. The case of twin seven-year-old males with Menkes disease is presented, along with p...