perforin gene (prf1) mutations have been reported in 20-30% of patients with familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (fhl), an immune disorder of infancy and early childhood. cytotoxic t and natural killer (nk) cell activities are remarkably reduced or ab-sent in fhl patients. we report the first cases of familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocy-tosis in an iranian family with two siblings. e...

Myofibrillar myopathies (MFMs) are a group of sporadic and hereditary skeletal muscle diseases, which lead to severe physical disability and premature death. Most MFMs are caused by mutations in genes encoding desmin, plectin, VCP, filamin C, BAG3, FHL-1, αB-crystallin, DNAJB6, myotilin, and ZASP. Biomechanical studies on primary human myoblasts carrying desmin and plectin mutations showed incr...

LIM domain-containing proteins play critical roles in vertebrate development and cellular differentiation. Recently, four members of the four and one-half LIM protein (FHL) family have been identified and cloned. One of these, FHL2, is expressed in a restricted manner in the cardiovascular system throughout development into adulthood, suggesting that FHL2 may play an important role in cardiovas...