The Arabic allele: a single base pair substitution activates a 10-base downstream cryptic splice acceptor site in exon 12 of LDLR and severely decreases LDLR expression in two unrelated Arab families with familial hypercholesterolemia.

Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a monogenic autosomal dominant disorder caused by defects in LDLR. Few reports describe FH mutations among Arabs. We describe a mutation in LDLR of two unrelated Arab families.