Search

Purpose: Heterozygous mutations around codon 838 of the guanylate cyclase 2D (GUCY2D) gene have recently been associated with more than a third of autosomal dominant macular dystrophy patients. The aim of our study was to evaluate the prevalence of these mutations in Spanish families with autosomal dominant cone, cone-rod, and macular dystrophies., Methods: Mutation analysis was performed by PCR amplification of exon 13 of GUCY2D and subsequent restriction analysis. To confirm the results, automatic sequencing analysis was also performed., Results: Among the 22 unrelated Spanish families included in the study, we found two associated disease mutations at codon 838 of the GUCY2D gene, one of which had not been previously described (p.R838P). This novel mutation exhibited phenotypic variability., Conclusions: The prevalence of mutations around codon 838 of GUCY2D in our group of families (9.09%) is lower than that previously reported in other populations. However, the discovery of a novel mutation at codon 838 further suggests that this locus is a mutation hotspot within the GUCY2D gene, and confirms the importance of analyzing this codon to characterize molecularly these autosomal dominant retinal disorders.

Purpose: To resolve the spectrum of causative retina-specific ATP-binding cassette transporter gene (ABCA4) gene mutations in Portuguese Stargardt (STGD) patients and compare allele frequencies obtained in this cohort with those of previous population surveys., Methods: Using a microarray technique (ABCR400 gene chip), we screened all previously reported ABCA4 gene mutations in the genomic DNA of 27 patients from 21 unrelated Stargardt families whose phenotypes had been clinically evaluated using psychophysics and electrophysiological measurements. Furthermore, we performed denaturing high performance liquid chromatography whenever one or both mutant alleles failed to be detected using the ABCR gene chip., Results: A total of 36 mutant alleles (out of the 54 tested) were identified in STGD patients, resulting in a detection rate of 67%. Two mutant alleles were present in 12 out of 21 STGD families (57%), whereas in four out of 21 (19%) of the families, only one mutant allele was found. We report the presence of 22 putative pathogenic alterations, including two sequence changes not found in other populations, c.2T>C (p.Met1Thr) and c.4036_4037delAC (p.Thr1346fs), and two novel disease-associated variants, c.400C>T (p.Gln134X) and c.4720G>T (p.Glu1574X). The great majority of the mutations were missense (72.7%). Seven frameshift variants (19.4%), three nonsense mutations (8.3%), and one splicing sequence change (2.7%) were also found in STGD chromosomes. The most prevalent pathologic variant was the missense mutation p.Leu11Pro. Present in 19% of the families, this mutation represents a quite high prevalence in comparison to other European populations. In addition, 23 polymorphisms were also identified, including four novel intronic sequence variants., Conclusions: To our knowledge, this study represents the first report of ABCA4 mutations in Portuguese STGD patients and provides further evidence of different mutation frequency across populations. Phenotypic characterization of novel putative mutations was addressed.

Purpose: Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) is one of the most severe inherited retinal dystrophies with the earliest age of onset. Mutations in the Crumbs homologue 1 (CRB1; OMIM 600105) gene explain 10%-24% of cases with LCA depending on the population. The aim of the present work was to study a fetal mutation associated to LCA in maternal plasma by a new methodology in the noninvasive prenatal diagnosis field: the denaturing High Performance Liquid Chromatography (dHPLC)., Methods: This study presents the case of a compound heterozygous fetus for two mutations in CRB1 (1q3.1-q32.2). dHPLC and automated DNA sequencing were used to detect the paternally inherited fetal mutation in a maternal plasma sample collected at the 12th week of gestation. To test the detection limit of dHPLC, we made serial dilutions of paternal DNA in control DNA., Results: We were able to detect the presence of the paternally inherited fetal CRB1 mutation in maternal plasma by dHPLC. Moreover, by comparing chromatograms of serial dilutions to the plasma sample, we could ascertain that the percentage of fetal DNA in maternal plasma was at least 2%. However, the detection of the fetal mutation was not possible by automated DNA sequencing., Conclusions: dHPLC seems to be sensitive enough to detect small amounts of fetal DNA in maternal plasma samples. It could be a useful tool for the noninvasive prenatal detection of paternally inherited point mutations associated with retinopathies.

Purpose: Stargardt disease (STGD), characterized by central visual impairment, is the most common juvenile macular dystrophy. All recessively inherited cases are thought to be due to mutations in the ABCA4 gene. Early-onset autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa (arRP) is a severe retinal degeneration that presents before the patient is ten years old. It has been associated with mutations in different genes, including CRB1. The aim of this study was to determine the genetic causes for two different retinal dystrophies, STGD and early-onset arRP, both segregating in one Spanish family., Methods: Mutational analyses were performed using the ABCR400 and Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) genotyping microarrays. Additional scanning for mutations was conducted by denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (dHPLC); results were confirmed by direct sequencing., Results: A patient, who exhibited a STGD phenotype, was found to be homozygous for the p.Asn1805Asp (c.5413A>G) mutation in ABCA4. However, his affected sister, who had the arRP phenotype, was found to be heterozygous for this allele; no other sequence change could be found in ABCA4. Analysis using the LCA chip revealed the p.Cys948Tyr mutation in CRB1 in heterozygous state. A second mutation (p.Trp822ter) was found in the CRB1 gene in the affected female by denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (dHPLC) and direct sequencing., Conclusions: Two distinct retinal dystrophies with mutations affecting two different genes cosegregated in this family. The presence of two different phenotypes associated with mutations in two distinct genes in one single family must be considered especially when dealing with retinal dystrophies which bear high carrier frequencies in general population.

Purpose: Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) is the most severe inherited retinopathy with the earliest age of onset. To date, eleven genes have been reported to cause the non-syndromic LCA phenotype. The CEP290 gene has been shown to account for Joubert and Senior-Loken syndromes and to represent a frequent cause of non-syndromic LCA. The aim of the present study was to establish the prevalence of CEP290 c.2991_1655A>G in non-syndromic Spanish patients having LCA or early-onset retinitis pigmentosa (RP)., Methods: We used automated sequencing to examine 49 non-syndromic Spanish families with LCA and 126 Spanish families with early-onset RP for the CEP290 c.2991_1655A>G mutation. As a control, we recruited 50 unrelated Spanish healthy individuals., Results: The frequencies of mutated alleles were 6% in LCA cases and 0% in early-onset RP and healthy individual controls. These results were compared to other populations., Conclusions: The CEP290 c.2991_1655A>G mutation frequency in Spanish non-syndromic LCA families is lower than that of other countries.

Purpose: To evaluate, in a pool of affected families, the mutation spectrum in Stargardt patients from Spain, using the ABCR400 microarray that contains described sequence variants in the gene encoding for the photoreceptor specific ATP-binding cassette transporter (ABCA4)., Methods: We analyzed 76 Spanish patients with STGD1 for a population-specific survey on the sequence variations in the ABCA4 gene, using the ABCR400 microarray., Results: Potential disease-associated alleles were identified in 91 of the 152 STGD1 chromosomes studied, resulting in a detection rate of 60%. The two mutant alleles were found in 33/76 patients (43%), whereas in 25/76 cases (33%) only one allele could be identified. In the remaining 18 patients no mutations were found. In total, we identified 40 sequence variations that could be related to the disease. The vast majority of these substitutions (35/40) were missense mutations. Three frameshift mutations and two splicing variants were also found., Conclusions: We identified a major disease-associated allele, R1129L, which accounted for 24% of the mutated alleles detected, and a high frequency (12%) of complex alleles.

Purpose: Norrie disease (OMIM 310600) is a rare X-linked disorder characterized by congenital blindness in males. Approximately 40 to 50% of the cases develop deafness and mental retardation. X-linked familial exudative vitreoretinopathy (XL-FEVR) is a hereditary ocular disorder characterized by a failure of peripheral retinal vascularization. Both X-linked disorders are due to mutations in the NDP gene, which encodes a 133 amino acid protein called Norrin, but autosomal recessive (AR) and autosomal dominant (AD) forms of FEVR have also been described. In this study, we report the molecular findings and the related phenotype in five Spanish families affected with Norrie disease or XL-FEVR due to mutations of the NDP gene., Methods: The study was conducted in 45 subjects from five Spanish families. These families were clinically diagnosed with Norrie disease or similar conditions. The three exons of the NDP gene were analyzed by automatic DNA sequencing. Haplotype analyses were also performed., Results: Two new nonsense mutations, apart from other mutations previously described in the NDP gene, were found in those patients affected with ND or X-linked FEVR., Conclusions: An important genotype-phenotype variation was found in relation to the different mutations of the NDP gene. In fact, the same mutation may be responsible for different phenotypes. We speculate that there might be other molecular factors that interact in the retina with Norrin, which contribute to the resultant phenotypes.