Detection of the 1226 (Jewish) mutation for Gaucher's disease by color PCR. A means for studying the gene frequency of the disorder.

The authors applied the polymerase chain reaction- (PCR) based color complementation assay for rapid detection of the 1226 ("Jewish") mutation of the glucocerebrosidase gene. Fifty-seven unrelated patients with Gaucher's disease and 50 unrelated normal Ashkenazi Jewish volunteers were studied. This mutation was identified in more than 75% of the Jewish Gaucher's disease alleles and in 4 (8%) of the 50 normal Jewish volunteers. The reliability of the technique was verified both by DNA sequencing and by leukocyte beta-glucosidase assay. This method is suggested as the simplest and most suitable one for a large-scale screening for the 1226 mutation for Gaucher's disease.