Hereditary 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3-resistant rickets is a human syndrome that arises as a result of heterogeneous molecular defects in the vitamin D3 receptor. Recent studies have identified single unique point mutations within the second or third exons that encode the DNA-binding domain of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene in two families with this syndrome. In the experiments reported here, these mutations were introduced into the normal VDR cDNA by site-directed mutagenesis and the mutant products evaluated for hormone, nuclear, and DNA-binding characteristics. Each mutant VDR was expressed in COS-1 cells at equivalent levels, and saturation analysis of cell cytosol revealed normal affinity for the 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 hormone. Incubation of transfected cells with radiolabeled hormone followed by lysis and extraction suggests a lowered salt dependence for solubilization of the mutant VDR. Concomitantly, mutant receptors exhibited reduced affinity for immobilized calf thymus DNA. While cotransfection of the wild type receptor together with a vitamin D-inducible (osteocalcin) chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter gene construction in CV-1 cells resulted in strong induction by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, neither mutant receptor was capable of directing significant activity either as a function of receptor or hormone concentration. These data suggest that the unique point mutations identified in each of these two families are responsible not only for the phenotype originally ascribed to the abnormal receptor but also severely compromise each protein's ability to activate transcription.