Mutation analysis of pre-mRNA splicing genes in Chinese families with retinitis pigmentosa

PURPOSE: Seven genes involved in precursor mRNA (pre-mRNA) splicing have been implicated in autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (adRP). We sought to detect mutations in all seven genes in Chinese families with RP, to characterize the relevant phenotypes, and to evaluate the prevalence of mutations in splicing genes in patients with adRP. METHODS: Six unrelated families from our adRP cohort (42 families) and two additional families with RP with uncertain inheritance mode were clinically characterized in the present study. Targeted sequence capture with next-generation massively parallel sequencing (NGS) was performed to screen mutations in 189 genes including all seven pre-mRNA splicing genes associated with adRP. Variants detected with NGS were filtered with bioinformatics analyses, validated with Sanger sequencing, and prioritized with pathogenicity analysis. RESULTS: Mutations in pre-mRNA splicing genes were identified in three individual families including one novel frameshift mutation in PRPF31 (p.Leu366fs*1) and two known mutations in SNRNP200 (p.Arg681His and p.Ser1087Leu). The patients carrying SNRNP200 p.R681H showed rapid disease progression, and the family carrying p.S1087L presented earlier onset ages and more severe phenotypes compared to another previously reported family with p.S1087L. In five other families, we identified mutations in other RP-related genes, including RP1 p. Ser781* (novel), RP2 p.Gln65* (novel) and p.Ile137del (novel), IMPDH1 p.Asp311Asn (recurrent), and RHO p.Pro347Leu (recurrent). CONCLUSIONS: Mutations in splicing genes identified in the present and our previous study account for 9.5% in our adRP cohort, indicating the important role of pre-mRNA splicing deficiency in the etiology of adRP. Mutations in the same splicing gene, or even the same mutation, could correlate with different phenotypic severities, complicating the genotype–phenotype correlation and clinical prognosis.