Identification of a MIP mutation that activates a cryptic acceptor splice site in the 3′ untranslated region

PURPOSE: To investigate the consequence of a major intrinsic protein MIP splice-site mutation (c.607–1G>A) in a four-generation Chinese pedigree afflicted with autosomal dominant congenital cataracts (ADCC). METHODS: Both a mutated minigene with c.607–1G>A, and a wild-type minigene were constructed using the pTARGET(TM) mammalian expression vector. They were transiently transfected into HeLa cells and human lens epithelial cells, respectively. After 48 h incubation, RNA extraction and RT–PCR analysis were performed and PCR products were separated and confirmed by sequencing. Structural models of the wild-type and the mutant aquaporin 0 (AQP0) were generated and analyzed using SWISS-MODEL. RESULTS: The G>A transition activated a cryptic acceptor splice site (c.965–966) in the 3′ untranslated region (3′ UTR), resulting in the absence of the coding region and most of the 3′UTR in exon 4 of the mature mRNA. Moreover, homology modeling of the mutant protein suggested that the sixth transmembrane helix and carboxyl terminus were replaced with the Leu-His-Ser tripeptide (AQP0-LHS). CONCLUSIONS: The MIP splice-site mutation (c.607–1G>A) activates a cryptic acceptor splice site in the 3′ UTR, which may result in substitution of the sixth transmembrane helix and carboxyl terminus for AQP0-LHS. To our knowledge, this is the first report of activation of a cryptic splice site in the 3′ UTR in a human disease gene.