Question: Is chronic granulomatous disease inherited ?
Answer: When chronic granulomatous disease is caused by mutations in the CYBB gene, the condition is inherited in an X-linked recessive pattern. The CYBB gene is located on the X chromosome, which is one of the two sex chromosomes. In males (who have only one X chromosome), one altered copy of the gene in each cell is sufficient to cause the condition. In females (who have two X chromosomes), a mutation would have to occur in both copies of the gene to cause the disorder. Because it is unlikely that females will have two altered copies of this gene, males are affected by X-linked recessive disorders much more frequently than females. A characteristic of X-linked inheritance is that fathers cannot pass X-linked traits to their sons. Rarely, females with one altered copy of the CYBB gene have mild symptoms of chronic granulomatous disease, such as an increased frequency of bacterial or fungal infections. When chronic granulomatous disease is caused by CYBA, NCF1, NCF2, or NCF4 gene mutations, the condition is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern, which means both copies of the gene in each cell have mutations. The parents of an individual with an autosomal recessive condition each carry one copy of the mutated gene, but they typically do not show signs and symptoms of the condition. Men and women are affected by autosomal recessive conditions equally.
Source: GHR