Novel rhodopsin mutation in a Chinese family with autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa.

PURPOSE: To identify mutations in the rhodopsin (RHO) gene in Chinese patients with autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (ADRP) and to measure the prevalence rate of RHO mutations in Chinese ADRP cases.

METHODS

Thirteen Chinese families with ADRP were clinically characterized. The complete coding region and intron splice sites of RHO were analyzed for mutations with single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis and direct genomic sequencing.

RESULTS

One of the 13 Chinese families with ADRP was found to have a new, previously unidentified RHO mutation, a change from GAG to TAG at codon 341. The mutation (E341X) results in an in-frame stop codon, leading to the truncation of the rhodopsin protein. Mutation E341X was not detected in 100 normal control individuals. Patients carrying mutation E341X reported night blindness and showed optic atrophy, vessel attenuation, and a few bone spicule-like pigments in peripheral retina at the age of 23-25 years. At the age of 30 years, visual acuity was severely impaired, peripheral visual field was greatly constricted, rod and cone ERG was not detectable, and only a slight left cone response remained.

CONCLUSIONS

We have identified a novel rhodopsin mutation (E341X) in a Chinese family with ADRP. The location and character of the mutation expand the spectrum of RHO mutations causing RP. Identification of a RHO mutation in one of the 13 ADRP families studied suggests that only 7.7% of the ADRP cases in a Chinese population were caused by RHO mutations, a ratio significantly lower than that from North America or Europe.