Purpose: Recent studies show that mutations in the gene encoding 11-cis retinol dehydrogenase are associated with fundus albipunctatus. The authors wanted to investigate whether additional, more severe, mutations in the 11-cis retinol dehydrogenase gene might be responsible for more severe forms of hereditary retinal diseases.
Design: Case-control molecular genetics study.
Participants and controls: Two index patients, 7 relatives, and 50 control individuals.
Methods: The authors screened two index patients diagnosed with fundus albipunctatus for mutations in exons 2 to 5 and exon/intron boundaries of the 11-cis retinol dehydrogenase gene by direct sequencing. Control individuals were screened for the presence of the mutations using allele-specific oligonucleotide hybridization.
Main outcome measures: Mutations in exons 2 to 5 and exon/intron boundaries of the 11-cis retinol dehydrogenase gene.
Results: In a compound heterozygote, two novel mutations were found: a 4 bp insertion in exon 2 and a missense mutation Cys267Trp in exon 5. In a second pedigree, a homozygous frameshift mutation in codon 43 (Arg42ct[1-bpdel]) was detected. In both families, the mutations segregate with the disease. The mutations were not found in 50 control individuals.
Conclusions: On the basis of our observations, it is unlikely that mutations in the 11-cis retinol dehydrogenase gene are associated with other, possibly more severe, retinal pathologic conditions/dystrophies or syndromic diseases in which the retina is also affected.