Retinopathy induced in mice by targeted disruption of the rhodopsin gene.

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) represents the most common mendelian degenerative retinopathy of man, involving death of rod photoreceptors, cone cell degeneration, retinal vessel attenuation and pigmentary deposits. The patient experiences night blindness, usually followed by progressive loss of visual field. Genetic linkage between an autosomal dominant RP locus and rhodopsin, the photoreactive pigment of the rod cells, led to the identification of mutations within the rhodopsin gene in both dominant and recessive forms of RP. To better understand the functional and structural role of rhodopsin in the normal retina and in the pathogenesis of retinal disease, we generated mice carrying a targeted disruption of the rhodopsin gene. Rho-/- mice do not elaborate rod outer segments, losing their photoreceptors over 3 months. There is no rod ERG response in 8-week-old animals. Rho+/- animals retain the majority of their photoreceptors although the inner and outer segments of these cells display some structural disorganization, the outer segments becoming shorter in older mice. These animals should provide a useful genetic background on which to express other mutant opsin transgenes, as well as a model to assess the therapeutic potential of re-introducing functional rhodopsin genes into degenerating retinal tissues.

Three keratin gene mutations account for the majority of dominant simplex epidermolysis bullosa cases within the population of Ireland.

We have located three extended families in Ireland (population 3.5 million) with autosomal dominant simplex forms of Epidermolysis Bullosa (EBS). A mutation within the keratin type I (K14) gene (Met-->272-->Arg) in one family suffering from the generalized simplex (Koebner) form of the disease has been previously described (Humphries et al., Hum Mutat 2:37-42, 1993). Here we report on the identification of mutations within the remaining two families, both of whom suffer from the Weber-Cockayne form of the disease. These mutations, within the type II keratin (K5) gene, are Asn-->193-->Lys and Met-->327-->Thr. They have been shown in each case to co-segregate with the disease and are not present in the normal population. Within the three families, a total of 44 living persons with such mutations have been identified, providing a minimum prevalence estimate for the disease in the Irish population of approximately 1 in 80,000, compared to an overall estimated global incidence at birth for all forms of EB of 1 in 50,000. Therefore, these three mutations probably account for the majority of cases of EBS within this population.

Localization of an autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa gene to chromosome 7q.

Retinitis pigmentosa is a group of clinically and genetically heterogeneous retinopathies and a significant cause of worldwide visual handicap. We have typed DNA from members of a Spanish family segregating an autosomal dominant form of retinitis pigmentosa (adRP) using a large series of simple sequence polymorphic markers. Positive two-point lod scores have been obtained with fifteen markers including D7S480 (theta max = 0.00, Zmax = 7.22). Multipoint analyses using a subset of these markers gave a lod score of 7.51 maximizing at D7S480. These data provide definitive evidence for the localisation of an adRP gene on chromosome 7q, and highlight the extensive genetic heterogeneity that exists in the autosomal dominant form of this disease.

A mutation (Met-->Arg) in the type I keratin (K14) gene responsible for autosomal dominant epidermolysis bullosa simplex.

We have identified a single base change in exon 4 of the type I keratin gene which results in the replacement of a methionine for an arginine residue at codon 272 in an Irish family displaying an autosomal dominant simplex (Koebner) form of epidermolysis bullosa (EB). This family had previously provided tentative evidence for linkage to genetic markers on chromosome 1q. The mutation cosegregates with the disease, producing a lod score of 4.8 at theta = 0.

Autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa: a novel mutation at the peripherin/RDS locus in the original 6p-linked pedigree.

Using single-strand conformation polymorphism electrophoresis, heteroduplex analysis, and direct sequencing, we have searched for possible disease-causing mutations in the adRP family in which we originally found tight linkage of the disease to 6p. We have now identified a single base change in exon 2, which results in the replacement of a serine residue at codon 212 for a glycine residue. The mutation cosegregates with the disease with a lod score of 12.1 at theta = 0.0.

A three-base-pair deletion in the peripherin-RDS gene in one form of retinitis pigmentosa.

The group of retinopathies termed retinitis pigmentosa (RP) greatly contribute to visual dysfunction in man with a frequency of roughly 1 in 4,000. We mapped the first autosomal dominant RP (adRP) gene to chromosome 3q, close to the gene encoding rhodopsin, a rod photoreceptor pigment protein. Subsequently, mutations in this gene have been implicated as responsible for some forms of adRP. Another adRP gene has been mapped to chromosome 8p. A third adRP gene in a large Irish pedigree has been mapped to chromosome 6p, showing tight linkage with the gene for peripherin, a photoreceptor cell-specific glycoprotein, which is thus a strong candidate for the defective gene. We have now identified a three-base-pair deletion which results in the loss of one of a pair of highly conserved cysteine residues in the predicted third transmembrane domain of peripherin. This deletion segregates with the disease phenotype but is not present in unaffected controls, and suggests that mutant peripherin gives rise to retinitis pigmentosa.

Human nidogen gene: identification of multiple RFLP and exclusion as candidate gene in a family with epidermolysis bullosa (EBS2) with evidence for linkage to chromosome 1.

Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is a group of heritable blistering diseases affecting the dermal-epidermal basement membrane zone. We have recently provided evidence for genetic linkage of the molecular defect in a large family with dominant simplex, generalized (Koebner) type of EB (EBS2) to the long arm of chromosome 1. Because human nidogen gene has been mapped to chromosomal locus 1q43 in the human genome, we examined the possibility that nidogen, an integral component of all basement membranes, would be the candidate gene in this family of EBS2. Restriction fragment-length polymorphism, which was shown with several restriction endonucleases to be present within the nidogen gene, was utilized for linkage analyses. The results using an informative PvuII polymorphism as a marker of allelic inheritance supported exclusion of the EBS2 locus from approximately 10 cM in either side of the nidogen locus, when Lod score of -2.0 was taken as the limit of exclusion. This study demonstrates the feasibility of examining other families with EB for possible linkage to the nidogen locus.

Epidermolysis bullosa: evidence for linkage to genetic markers on chromosome 1 in a family with the autosomal dominant simplex form.

DNA from members of a three-generation pedigree of Irish origin, displaying an autosomal dominant simplex form of epidermolysis bullosa of the epidermolytic, simplex, or Koebner variety (EBS2), was analyzed for linkage with a set of markers derived from the long arm of chromosome 1. Two-point analysis revealed positive lod scores for five of these markers, AT3 (Z = 2.107, theta = 0), APOA2 (Z = 1.939, theta = 0.15), D1S66 (Z = 1.204, theta = 0), D1S13 (Z = 1.026, theta = 0.15), and D1S65 (Z = 0.329, theta = 0.15). Multilocus analysis, incorporating the markers D1S19, D1S16, D1S13, APOA2, D1S66, AT3, and D1S65, resulted in a lod score of 3 maximizing at AT3. These data strongly support previous tentative indications of linkage between EBS2 and genetic markers on the long arm of chromosome 1.

Autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (ADRP): localization of an ADRP gene to the long arm of chromosome 3.

Members of a large pedigree of Irish origin presenting with early onset Type I autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (ADRP) have been typed for D3S47 (C17), a polymorphic marker from the long arm of chromosome 3. Significant, tight linkage of ADRP to D3S47, with a lod score of 14.7 maximizing at 0.00 recombination, has been obtained, hence localizing the ADRP gene (RP1) segregating in this pedigree to 3q.