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Purpose: To present new molecular genetic data on primary congenital glaucoma from 2 families, 1 isolated case and 3 familial cases due to mutations in the cytochrome P-450 1B1 (CYP1B1) gene., Methods: All diagnoses were made by slit-lamp biomicroscopy, gonioscopy, cornea and optic disk measurements, ultrasound-biometry, and automated static threshold perimetry where possible. Mutation screening was performed by direct sequence analysis of DNA extracted from peripheral blood of the patients and their relatives., Results: For the isolated case, a child of 4 years, a homozygous nucleotide deletion within a tetrad of cytosines (nt622-625, 622delC) was found leading to a predicted nonsense codon 93 truncating the protein by 450 amino acids. For the familial cases, the 3 affected members showed a homozygous mutation 1,546-1,555dupTCATGCCACC for which 9 healthy relatives proved to be heterozygous. The phenotypic expression of these 3 patients varied widely., Conclusion: Our results confirm the crucial role of CYP1B1 mutations for congenital glaucoma.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorder of the peripheral nervous system. CMT type 1 is most frequently caused by a 1.4 Mb tandem duplication in chromosome 17p11.2 comprising the peripheral myelin protein 22 (PMP22) gene. Furthermore sequence variations of PMP22, myelin protein zero (MPZ) and the gap junction protein b 1 gene (GJB1 or Connexin 32) may cause a variety of distinct CMT phenotypes. In this study we screened DNA from 42 unrelated patients for mutations in the PMP22, MPZ and GJB1 genes. Four novel mutations were identified. A Val65Phe amino acid exchange in PMP22 causes CMT type 1 associated with deafness, in GJB1 Tyr7_Thr8delinsSer, Pro172Ala and Ser138Asn are causes of CMTX neuropathies"., (Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)

Purpose: To describe three patients with congenital glaucoma homozygous and compound heterozygous for different mutations and benign sequence variants in the cytochrome P 450 1B1 (CYP1B1) gene., Methods: All patients were examined by slit-lamp biomicroscopy, gonioscopy, measurement of the cornea and optic disc, ultrasound biometry, and automated static threshold perimetry when possible. Direct sequence analysis was performed on DNA extracted from peripheral blood from the patients and their parents., Results: For patient 1, a newborn boy with buphthalmos and an opaque cornea, a novel homozygous C/T transition in codon 355 (CGA>TGA) led to a predicted nonsense codon Arg355X truncating the protein by 188 amino acids. For patient 2, a 24-year-old man, a compound heterozygous mutation 1410-1422del/1546-1555dup was found. For patient 3, a 34-year-old man, two novel heterozygous missense mutations resulting in an Ala443Gly and a Glu229Lys amino acid exchange and five benign sequence variants were found., Conclusion: Our results confirm the crucial role of CYP1B1 mutations for congenital glaucoma.

Autosomal dominant juvenile open angle glaucoma (JOAG) is an early-onset form of primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), which has been linked to chromosome 1q21-q31. Recently, mutations in the trabecular meshwork inducible glucocorticoid response gene (TIGR), one of the candidate genes mapped in this region, were identified in glaucoma patients of several families. We screened for mutations of the TIGR gene in two German families with JOAG and in 100 unselected sporadic cases of POAG. In the first family we identified a Pro370Leu mutation and in the second family a Gly367Arg mutation cosegregating with the glaucoma phenotype. No pathogenic mutation was found in 100 sporadic cases but a Tyr347Tyr polymorphism was found in two patients. Furthermore, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis was used to map a TIGR-specific yeast artificial chromosome to 1q24.3-q25.2.