How is MPS inherited?
We all have genes inherited from our parents which control whether we are tall, short, fair, etc. Some genes we inherit are “recessive,” that is to say we carry the gene but it does not have any effect on our development. MPS VI (Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome) is caused by a recessive gene. If an adult carrying the abnormal gene marries another carrier there will be a one in four chance with every pregnancy that the child will inherit the defective gene from each parent and will be affected with the disease. There is a two in three chance that unaffected brothers and sisters of MPS VI children will be carriers. Inbreeding could perpetuate the disorder but it is a gene mutation like any other that is passed down both maternally and paternally.
MPS-VI dogs featured in photos: Walter Grimmy