Becker's Nevus and Lethal Beta-Actin Mutations.

The etiology of Becker's nevus and Becker's nevus syndrome has been until now unknown. Cai et al. provide evidence that these disorders are caused by lethal mutations in ACTB, a gene coding for beta-actin. They hypothesize that these mutations may interfere with Hedgehog pathway signaling. Their findings have important implications for clinical genetics, and they open new aspects in hair research.