Variants in the PRPF8 Gene are Associated with Glaucoma

Glaucoma is the cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. Mutations in six genes have been associated with juvenile- and adult-onset familial primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) prior to this report but they explain only a small proportion of the genetic load. The aim of the study is to identify the novel genetic cause of the POAG in the families with adult-onset glaucoma. Whole exome sequencing (WES) was performed on DNA of two affected individuals, and predicted pathogenic variants were evaluated for segregation in four affected and three unaffected Dutch family members by Sanger sequencing. We identified a pathogenic variant (p.Val956Gly) in the PRPF8 gene, which segregates with the disease in Dutch family. Targeted Sanger sequencing of PRPF8 in a panel of 40 POAG families (18 Pakistani and 22 Dutch) revealed two additional nonsynonymous variants (p.Pro13Leu and p.Met25Thr), which segregate with the disease in two other Pakistani families. Both variants were then analyzed in a case-control cohort consisting of Pakistani 320 POAG cases and 250 matched controls. The p.Pro13Leu and p.Met25Thr variants were identified in 14 and 20 cases, respectively, while they were not detected in controls (p values 0.0004 and 0.0001, respectively). Previously, PRPF8 mutations have been associated with autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (RP). The PRPF8 variants associated with POAG are located at the N-terminus, while all RP-associated mutations cluster at the C-terminus, dictating a clear genotype-phenotype correlation.