@article {803, title = {Exome sequencing in patients with microphthalmia, anophthalmia, and coloboma (MAC) from a consanguineous population.}, journal = {Clin Genet}, volume = {98}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 11}, pages = {499-506}, abstract = {

Next-generation sequencing strategies have resulted in mutation detection rates of 21\% to 61\% in small cohorts of patients with microphthalmia, anophthalmia and coloboma (MAC), but despite progress in identifying novel causative genes, many patients remain without a genetic diagnosis. We studied a cohort of 19 patients with MAC who were ascertained from a population with high rates of consanguinity. Using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays and whole exome sequencing (WES), we identified one pathogenic variant in TENM3 in a patient with cataracts in addition to MAC. We also detected novel variants of unknown significance in genes that have previously been associated with MAC, including KIF26B, MICU1 and CDON, and identified variants in candidate genes for MAC from the Wnt signaling pathway, comprising LRP6, WNT2B and IQGAP1, but our findings do not prove causality. Plausible variants were not found for many of the cases, indicating that our current understanding of the pathogenesis of MAC, a highly heterogeneous group of ocular defects, remains incomplete.

}, issn = {1399-0004}, doi = {10.1111/cge.13830}, author = {Islam, Farrah and Htun, Stephanie and Lai, Li-Wen and Krall, Max and Poranki, Menitha and Martin, Pierre-Marie and Sobreira, Nara and Wohler, Elizabeth S and Yu, Jingwei and Moore, Anthony T and Slavotinek, Anne M} } @article {615, title = {Mutation in the intracellular chloride channel CLCC1 associated with autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa.}, journal = {PLoS Genet}, volume = {14}, year = {2018}, month = {2018 08}, pages = {e1007504}, abstract = {

We identified a homozygous missense alteration (c.75C>A, p.D25E) in CLCC1, encoding a presumptive intracellular chloride channel highly expressed in the retina, associated with autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa (arRP) in eight consanguineous families of Pakistani descent. The p.D25E alteration decreased CLCC1 channel function accompanied by accumulation of mutant protein in granules within the ER lumen, while siRNA knockdown of CLCC1 mRNA induced apoptosis in cultured ARPE-19 cells. TALEN KO in zebrafish was lethal 11 days post fertilization. The depressed electroretinogram (ERG) cone response and cone spectral sensitivity of 5 dpf KO zebrafish and reduced eye size, retinal thickness, and expression of rod and cone opsins could be rescued by injection of wild type CLCC1 mRNA. Clcc1+/- KO mice showed decreased ERGs and photoreceptor number. Together these results strongly suggest that intracellular chloride transport by CLCC1 is a critical process in maintaining retinal integrity, and CLCC1 is crucial for survival and function of retinal cells.

}, keywords = {Animals, Asian Continental Ancestry Group, Cell Line, Chloride Channels, Cytoplasm, Eye Proteins, HEK293 Cells, Homozygote, Humans, Mice, Mice, Knockout, Mutation, Missense, Pakistan, Retina, Retinal Cone Photoreceptor Cells, Retinal Rod Photoreceptor Cells, Retinitis Pigmentosa, Zebrafish}, issn = {1553-7404}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pgen.1007504}, author = {Li, Lin and Jiao, Xiaodong and D{\textquoteright}Atri, Ilaria and Ono, Fumihito and Nelson, Ralph and Chan, Chi-Chao and Nakaya, Naoki and Ma, Zhiwei and Ma, Yan and Cai, Xiaoying and Zhang, Longhua and Lin, Siying and Hameed, Abdul and Chioza, Barry A and Hardy, Holly and Arno, Gavin and Hull, Sarah and Khan, Muhammad Imran and Fasham, James and Harlalka, Gaurav V and Michaelides, Michel and Moore, Anthony T and Coban Akdemir, Zeynep Hande and Jhangiani, Shalini and Lupski, James R and Cremers, Frans P M and Qamar, Raheel and Salman, Ahmed and Chilton, John and Self, Jay and Ayyagari, Radha and Kabir, Firoz and Naeem, Muhammad Asif and Ali, Muhammad and Akram, Javed and Sieving, Paul A and Riazuddin, Sheikh and Baple, Emma L and Riazuddin, S Amer and Crosby, Andrew H and Hejtmancik, J Fielding} } @article {106, title = {Safety and Proof-of-Concept Study of Oral QLT091001 in Retinitis Pigmentosa Due to Inherited Deficiencies of Retinal Pigment Epithelial 65 Protein (RPE65) or Lecithin:Retinol Acyltransferase (LRAT).}, journal = {PLoS One}, volume = {10}, year = {2015}, month = {2015}, pages = {e0143846}, abstract = {

UNLABELLED: Restoring vision in inherited retinal degenerations remains an unmet medical need. In mice exhibiting a genetically engineered block of the visual cycle, vision was recently successfully restored by oral administration of 9-cis-retinyl acetate (QLT091001). Safety and visual outcomes of a once-daily oral dose of 40 mg/m2/day QLT091001 for 7 consecutive days was investigated in an international, multi-center, open-label, proof-of-concept study in 18 patients with RPE65- or LRAT-related retinitis pigmentosa. Eight of 18 patients (44\%) showed a >=20\% increase and 4 of 18 (22\%) showed a >=40\% increase in functional retinal area determined from Goldmann visual fields; 12 (67\%) and 5 (28\%) of 18 patients showed a >=5 and >=10 ETDRS letter score increase of visual acuity, respectively, in one or both eyes at two or more visits within 2 months of treatment. In two patients who underwent fMRI, a significant positive response was measured to stimuli of medium contrast, moving, pattern targets in both left and right hemispheres of the occipital cortex. There were no serious adverse events. Treatment-related adverse events were transient and the most common included headache, photophobia, nausea, vomiting, and minor biochemical abnormalities. Measuring the outer segment length of the photoreceptor layer with high-definition optical coherence tomography was highly predictive of treatment responses with responders having a significantly larger baseline outer segment thickness (11.7 {\textpm} 4.8 μm, mean {\textpm} 95\% CI) than non-responders (3.5 {\textpm} 1.2 μm). This structure-function relationship suggests that treatment with QLT091001 is more likely to be efficacious if there is sufficient photoreceptor integrity.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01014052.

}, keywords = {Acyltransferases, Administration, Oral, Adult, Anticarcinogenic Agents, Cerebral Cortex, Child, cis-trans-Isomerases, Drug Dosage Calculations, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Radiography, Retinal Ganglion Cells, Retinal Neurons, Retinitis Pigmentosa, Treatment Outcome, Visual Acuity, Visual Fields, Vitamin A, Young Adult}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0143846}, author = {Scholl, Hendrik P N and Moore, Anthony T and Koenekoop, Robert K and Wen, Yuquan and Fishman, Gerald A and van den Born, L Ingeborgh and Bittner, Ava and Bowles, Kristen and Fletcher, Emily C and Collison, Frederick T and Dagnelie, Gislin and Degli Eposti, Simona and Michaelides, Michel and Saperstein, David A and Schuchard, Ronald A and Barnes, Claire and Zein, Wadih and Zobor, Ditta and Birch, David G and Mendola, Janine D and Zrenner, Eberhart} }