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Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Differentiation, Maintenance, and Analysis of Human Retinal Pigment Epithelium Cells: A Disease-in-a-dish Model for BEST1 Mutations
Published on: August 24, 2018
The spectrum of ocular phenotypes caused by mutations in the BEST1 gene
Camiel J F Boon1, B Jeroen Klevering, Bart P Leroy
1Department of Ophthalmology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
Bestrophin-1 is an integral membrane protein, encoded by the BEST1 gene, which is located in the basolateral membrane of the retinal pigment epithelium. The bestrophin-1 protein forms a Ca(2+) activated Cl(-) channel and is involved in the regulation of voltage-dependent Ca(2+) channels. In addition, bestrophin-1 appears to play a role in ocular development. Over 120 different human BEST1 mutations have been described to date, associated with a broad range of ocular phenotypes. The purpose of this review is to describe this spectrum of phenotypes, which includes Best vitelliform macular dystrophy and adult-onset foveomacular vitelliform dystrophy, autosomal dominant vitreoretinochoroidopathy, the MRCS (microcornea, rod-cone dystrophy, cataract, posterior staphyloma) syndrome, and autosomal recessive bestrophinopathy. The genotype-phenotype correlations that are observed in association with BEST1 mutations are discussed. In addition, in vitro studies and animal models that clarify the pathophysiological mechanisms are reviewed.
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