Homozygous Knockout of Cep250 Leads to a Relatively Late-Onset Retinal Degeneration and Sensorineural Hearing Loss in Mice.

Purpose: Usher syndrome (USH) is the most common syndromic inherited retinal disease, causing retinitis pigmentosa and sensorineural hearing loss. We reported previously that a nonsense mutation in the centrosome-associated protein CEP250 gene (encoding C-Nap1) causes atypical USH in patients of Iranian Jewish origin. To better characterize CEP250, we aimed to generate and study a knockout (KO) mouse model for Cep250. Methods: Mice heterozygous for a "knockout-first" Cep250 construct were generated and bred with Cre recombinase mice to generate the null allele and produce homozygous Cep250 KO mice. Retinal function was evaluated by full-field electroretinography (ffERG) at variable ages, and retinal structure changes were examined using histological analysis. Hearing thresholds were detected using auditory brainstem response (ABR) at the age of 20 months. Results: The Cep250 KO mouse model was generated by activating a construct harboring a deletion of exons 6 and 7. At 6 months, the ffERG was normal, but it decreased gradually with age. For both photopic and scotopic ffERG responses, very low amplitudes were evident at 20 months. Histological analysis confirmed late-onset retinal degeneration. ABR tests illustrated that hearing threshold significantly increased at the age of 20 months. Conclusions: Although most USH animal models have normal retinal function and structure, the Cep250 KO mouse model shows both retinal degeneration and hearing loss with a relatively late age of onset. This model may shed more light on CEP250-associated retinal and hearing deficits and represents an efficient platform for the development of treatment modalities for USH. Translational Relevance: Our study demonstrates better understanding of Cep250-associated retinal and hearing disease in a mouse model and may help in developing more efficient gene therapy modalities.

The combination of whole-exome sequencing and clinical analysis allows better diagnosis of rare syndromic retinal dystrophies.

PURPOSE: To identify the accurate clinical diagnosis of rare syndromic inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) based on the combination of clinical and genetic analyses. METHODS: Four unrelated families with various autosomal recessive syndromic inherited retinal diseases were genetically investigated using whole-exome sequencing (WES). RESULTS: Two affected subjects in family MOL0760 presented with a distinctive combination of short stature, developmental delay, congenital mental retardation, microcephaly, facial dysmorphism and retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Subjects were clinically diagnosed with suspected Kabuki syndrome. WES revealed a homozygous nonsense mutation (c.5492dup, p.Asn1831Lysfs*8) in VPS13B that is known to cause Cohen syndrome. The index case of family MOL1514 presented with both RP and liver dysfunction, suspected initially to be related. WES identified a homozygous frameshift mutation (c.1787_1788del, p.His596Argfs*47) in AGBL5, associated with nonsyndromic RP. The MOL1592 family included three affected subjects with crystalline retinopathy, skin ichthyosis, short stature and congenital adrenal hypoplasia, and were found to harbour a homozygous nonsense mutation (c.682C>T, p.Arg228Cys) in ALDH3A2, reported to cause Sjögren-Larsson syndrome (SLS). In the fourth family, SJ002, two siblings presented with hypotony, psychomotor delay, dysmorphic facial features, pathologic myopia, progressive external ophthalmoplegia and diffuse retinal atrophy. Probands were suspected to have atypical Kearns-Sayre syndrome, but were diagnosed with combined oxidative phosphorylation deficiency-20 due to a novel suspected missense variant (c.1691C>T, p.Ala564Val) in VARS2. CONCLUSION: Our findings emphasize the important complement of WES and thorough clinical investigation in establishing precise clinical diagnosis. This approach constitutes the basis for personalized medicine in rare IRDs.

The Genetics of Usher Syndrome in the Israeli and Palestinian Populations.

Purpose: Usher syndrome (USH) is the most common cause for deaf-blindness. It is genetically and clinically heterogeneous and prevalent in populations with high consanguinity rate. We aim to characterize the set of genes and mutations that cause USH in the Israeli and Palestinian populations. Methods: Seventy-four families with USH were recruited (23 with USH type 1 [USH1], 33 with USH2, seven with USH3, four with atypical USH, and seven families with an undetermined USH type). All affected subjects underwent a full ocular evaluation. A comprehensive genetic analysis, including Sanger sequencing for the detection of founder mutations, homozygosity mapping, and whole exome sequencing in large families was performed. Results: In 79% of the families (59 out of 74), an autosomal recessive inheritance pattern could be determined. Mutation detection analysis led to the identification of biallelic causative mutations in 51 (69%) of the families, including 21 families with mutations in USH2A, 17 in MYO7A, and seven in CLRN1. Our analysis revealed 28 mutations, 11 of which are novel (including c.802G>A, c.8558+1G>T, c.10211del, and c.14023A>T in USH2A; c.285+2T>G, c.2187+1G>T, c.3892G>A, c.5069_5070insC, c.5101C>T, and c.6196C>T in MYO7A; and c.15494del in GPR98). Conclusions: We report here novel homozygous mutations in various genes causing USH, extending the spectrum of causative mutations. We also prove combined sequencing techniques as useful tools to identify novel disease-causing mutations. To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest report of a genetic analysis of Israeli and Palestinian families (n = 74) with different USH subtypes.

Whole-exome sequencing reveals POC5 as a novel gene associated with autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa.

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP), the most common form of inherited retinal degeneration, is associated with different groups of genes, including those encoding proteins involved in centriole and cilium biogenesis. Exome sequencing revealed a homozygous nonsense mutation [c.304_305delGA (p. D102*)] in POC5, encoding the Proteome Of Centriole 5 protein, in a patient with RP, short stature, microcephaly and recurrent glomerulonephritis. The POC5 gene is ubiquitously expressed, and immunohistochemistry revealed a distinct POC5 localization at the photoreceptor connecting cilium. Morpholino-oligonucleotide-induced knockdown of poc5 translation in zebrafish resulted in decreased length of photoreceptor outer segments and a decreased visual motor response, a measurement of retinal function. These phenotypes could be rescued by wild-type human POC5 mRNA. These findings demonstrate that Poc5 is important for normal retinal development and function. Altogether, this study presents POC5 as a novel gene involved autosomal recessively inherited RP, and strengthens the hypothesis that mutations in centriolar proteins are important cause of retinal dystrophies.

Identification of genomic deletions causing inherited retinal degenerations by coverage analysis of whole exome sequencing data.

BACKGROUND: Inherited retinal degenerations (IRDs) are a common cause of visual disturbance with a high clinical and genetic heterogeneity. Recent sequencing techniques such as whole exome sequencing (WES) contribute to the discovery of novel genes. The aim of the current study was to use WES data to identify large deletions that include at least one exon in known IRD genes. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with IRDs underwent a comprehensive ophthalmic evaluation. WES was performed using the NimbleGen V2 paired-end kit and HiSeq 2000. An analysis of exon coverage data was performed on 60 WES samples. Exonic deletions were verified by 'PCR walking' analysis. RESULTS: We analysed data obtained from 60 WES samples of index patients with IRDs. By calculating the average coverage for all exons in the human genome, we were able to identify homozygous and hemizygous deletions of at least one exon in six families (10%), including a single-exon deletion in EYS, deletions of three consecutive exons in MYO7A and NPHP4, deletions of four and eight consecutive exons in RPGR and a multigene deletion on the X-chromosome, including CHM. By using PCR-walking analysis, we were able to identify the borders of five of the deletions and to screen our set of patients for these deletions. CONCLUSIONS: We performed here a comprehensive analysis of WES data as a tool for identifying large genomic deletions in patients with IRDs. Our analysis indicates that large deletions are relatively frequent (about 10% of our WES cohort) and should be screened when analysing WES data.