Absence of pathogenic γ-secretase mutations in a South Wales cohort of familial and sporadic hidradenitis suppurativa (acne inversa)

Loss-of-function mutations in the γ-secretase genes NCSTN, PSENEN, and PSEN1 have recently been reported to underlie a subset of familial hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) in Chinese,(1-3) Japanese(4) and European(5-7) populations. In most cases, the HS phenotype was relatively severe and extensive and patients were drawn from multiplex kindreds. Of note, pathogenic γ-secretase mutations were found in only two of seven HS pedigrees examined in a UK study(5) and three out of 14 pedigrees from France.(7) In addition, mutational analysis of NCSTN, PSENEN, and PSEN1 in 48 HS patients referred to a tertiary UK clinic, 20 of whom reported a family history of HS, demonstrated only two pathogenic mutations.(6).