1. Genetic epidemiology of inherited retinal diseases in a large patient cohort followed at a single center in Italy.
- Author
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Karali M, Testa F, Di Iorio V, Torella A, Zeuli R, Scarpato M, Romano F, Onore ME, Pizzo M, Melillo P, Brunetti-Pierri R, Passerini I, Pelo E, Cremers FPM, Esposito G, Nigro V, Simonelli F, and Banfi S
- Subjects
- Humans, Molecular Epidemiology, Retrospective Studies, Retina, Italy epidemiology, Eye Proteins genetics, ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters genetics, Membrane Proteins genetics, Nerve Tissue Proteins, Retinal Diseases epidemiology, Retinal Diseases genetics
- Abstract
Inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) are the leading cause of vision loss in the working-age population. We performed a retrospective epidemiological study to determine the genetic basis of IRDs in a large Italian cohort (n = 2790) followed at a single referral center. We provided, mainly by next generation sequencing, potentially conclusive molecular diagnosis for 2036 patients (from 1683 unrelated families). We identified a total of 1319 causative sequence variations in 132 genes, including 353 novel variants, and 866 possibly actionable genotypes for therapeutic approaches. ABCA4 was the most frequently mutated gene (n = 535; 26.3% of solved cases), followed by USH2A (n = 228; 11.2%) and RPGR (n = 102; 5.01%). The other 129 genes had a lower contribution to IRD pathogenesis (e.g. CHM 3.5%, RHO 3.5%; MYO7A 3.4%; CRB1 2.7%; RPE65 2%, RP1 1.8%; GUCY2D 1.7%). Seventy-eight genes were mutated in five patients or less. Mitochondrial DNA variants were responsible for 2.1% of cases. Our analysis confirms the complex genetic etiology of IRDs and reveals the high prevalence of ABCA4 and USH2A mutations. This study also uncovers genetic associations with a spectrum of clinical subgroups and highlights a valuable number of cases potentially eligible for clinical trials and, ultimately, for molecular therapies., (© 2022. The Author(s).)
- Published
- 2022
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