[A novel rhodopsin E341ter mutation in patients with retinitis pigmentosa and corresponding clinical phenotype]

To detect rhodopsin (RHO) mutation in Chinese families with autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (ADRP) and study on the association of RHO gene mutations with clinical phenotype.

Twenty-seven members from 13 Chinese families with ADRP and 30 normal subjects were recruited. The complete coding regions of the rhodopsin gene were amplified with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and then DNA single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) technique was used to screen RHO gene mutations. When a variant band was observed after the SSCP electrophoresis, the variant band was analyzed by sequencing PCR-amplified DNA. All subjects were examined clinically by slit-lamp, direct funduscopy, Goldmann kinetic perimetry, Humphrey threshold perimetry and electroretinogram.

Nine affected subjects and 2 boys (11 and 9 years old respectively) in one pedigree among 13 families were found to have three DNA single strand bands by SSCP analysis. Results of assaying sequence showed the 11 members were heterozygous for rhodopsin E341ter mutation. The codon 341 is changed from GAG to TAG, resulting in a stop codon mutation. Thirty normal controls and unaffected subjects in this family were the wild type of RHO gene. Affected individuals reported night blindness in the second decade, showed optic atrophy, vessel attenuation and a few bone spicule-like pigments in the peripheral retina. The impairment of visual acuity was relatively severe, loss of peripheral visual field was greatly considerable after 30 years of age, rod and cone ERG were not detectable in the second decade, and only slight cone response was left.

The natural history of RP in this family begins with a loss of rod function, progresses to involve the cone system, and leads eventually to a severe loss of visual function. A novel rhodopsin gene mutation E341ter is responsible for a Chinese family with ADRP.