TGFBI gene mutations in a Korean population with corneal dystrophy

To investigate the clinical and genetic features of Korean patients with corneal dystrophies associated with mutations in the human transforming growth factor-β-induced (TGFBI) gene.

In this study, 387 subjects (71 families and 89 individuals - 268 patients having TGFBI corneal dystrophies and 119 normal relatives) were assessed. All subjects underwent a complete ophthalmologic evaluation, including biomicroscopic inspection and dilated fundus examination. As a control, 100 individuals without corneal disease were selected from the general population. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and direct sequencing were used to screen for mutations in TGFBI.

All subjects recruited exhibited a range of corneal dystrophies, including Thiel-Behnke corneal dystrophy (TBCD, R555Q; 6 families and 4 individuals), granular corneal dystrophy type 2 (GCD2, R124H; 61 families and 80 individuals), lattice corneal dystrophy (LCD; 4 families and 5 individuals; 7 with type 1 [R124C], and 2 with a variant [L527R, P542R]). The disease showed an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern in all families.

R124H in GCD2 was the most common mutation. GCD1 and Reis-Bucklers corneal dystrophy were not found. In the GCD2 patients there were a large number of laser refractive surgery-induced corneal opacities. A spontaneous R124H mutation was confirmed in an already mutated allele that resulted in a change from a heterozygous into a homozygous form. Also, a novel mutation, P527R, was identified in LCD.