Advanced molecular approaches pave the road to a clear-cut diagnosis of hereditary retinal dystrophies

Purpose The aim of this study was to identify the molecular genetic basis of hereditary retinal dystrophies (HRDs) in five unrelated Iranian families. Methods Whole exome sequencing and Sanger sequencing were performed in all families. Variants were analyzed using various bioinformatics databases and software. Results Based on the selected strategies, we identified potentially causative variants in five families with HRDs: the novel homozygous deletion mutation c.586_589delTTTG (p.F196Sfs*56) in the TTC8 gene of family A, the novel homozygous missense mutation c.2389T>C (p.S797P) in the CRB1 gene in family B, the novel homozygous frameshift mutation c.2707dupA (p.S903Kfs*66) in the LRP5 gene in family C, the novel homozygous splice mutation c.584–1G>T in the MERTK gene in family D, and the novel homozygous missense mutation c.1819G>C (p.G607R) rs61749412 in the ABCA4 gene of family E. Conclusions This study highlights the presence of five novel variants associated with retinal dystrophies in selected Iranian families with hereditary blindness.