Mutations in both copies of this gene have not been found in those with Waardenburg syndrome type 2 since.Type 2E was first established in 1996 when a study identified a girl with symptoms of Waardenburg syndrome type 2 but with additional underdevelopment of the front of the eye, leading to blindness. In 1999, it was found that she had a mutation in her SOX10 gene, and later studies confirmed the association between mutations in this gene and this phenotype, as well as neurological symptoms such as developmental delay.Type 3 was first given its name by Goodman et al. in 1981, in collaboration with Klein, in which they established the association with arm abnormalities first reported by Klein in 1947. Mutations in PAX3 were first linked to this phenotype in 1992.The comorbidity with Hirschsprungs disease, which would later constitute type 4, was first noticed in various studies in the 1970s. Indian paediatrician Krishnakumar Shah and his associates first outlined the syndrome as a possible variant of Waardenburg syndrome in 1981. The variant was first attributed to a mutation in EDNRB in 1994 (now classed as type 4A). Type 4B was established in 1996 when mutations in EDN3 were found to lead to this type of Waardenburg syndrome, and type 4C was first established in 1998 when mutations in SOX10 were also found to lead to this type. Society and culture
Popular culture
The 2001 novel Shock by Robin Cook mentions a character with the disorder.
Mutations in this gene therefore prematurely arrest their division and migration, resulting in a minor lack of development of certain face cartilage and bones, as well as underdeveloped inner-ear structures and a lack of melanocytes in the iris stroma. Some evidence shows that PAX3 also regulates cells from before the neural crest forms, i.e. the neural tube, since mice with loss-of-function mutations in one of the copies of PAX3 have neural tube defects such as spina bifida or exencephaly. Type 2 is caused by a mutation in any of a range of genes, the most common being MITF, when it is classed as type 2A. Type 2A is caused by an autosomal dominant mutation in the gene MITF. MITF, or microphthalmia-associated transcription factor, has a more specialised role in the neural crest and is more strictly involved after the neural crest forms (PAX3 and SOX10 have been found to activate MITF). It is known to allow melanocytes, osteoclasts, mast cells and retinal pigment epithelial cells to divide and migrate. The involvement in osteoclasts explains why mutations in both copies of MITF can lead to bone hardening (osteopetrosis), as the osteoclasts are responsible for breaking down bone. MITF also activates transcription of tyrosinase, the enzyme that performs the first step in the creation of melanin (oxidising tyrosine). A mutation in a copy of MITF can also lead to Tietz syndrome, which is distinguished from Waardenburg syndrome by uniform albinism instead of patchy depigmentation.