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Updated: Oct 1, 2026

In Vivo Functional Study of Disease-associated Rare Human Variants Using Drosophila
Published on: August 20, 2019
A Homozygous Frameshift Variant in KHDC4 Is Associated With a Syndromic Inherited Retinal Disease in Humans
Asodu Sandeep Sarma1, Neta Barnoy1, Prakadeeswari Gopalakrishnan1
1Division of Ophthalmology, Hadassah Medical Centre, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
Abstract:
Inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) are genetically heterogeneous and often remain unsolved despite advanced sequencing. This study investigated two siblings from a consanguineous Arab-Christian family presenting with a syndromic IRD. Exome sequencing revealed a homozygous frameshift variant (c.1535_1538del:(p.Lys512Argfs*8) in the KHDC4 gene, which segregated with disease in an autosomal recessive pattern. In vitro overexpression of the mutant protein showed aberrant sub-cellular localization, and an in vivo zebrafish knockout model exhibited mild retinal dysfunction. These findings establish KHDC4 as a novel candidate gene for syndromic IRDs in humans, expanding the genetic landscape of the IRDs.
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