Mutation screening of crystallin genes in Chinese families with congenital cataracts.

Abstract

Purpose: To identify mutations in crystallin genes in Chinese families with congenital cataracts. Methods: , were analyzed with Sanger sequencing. Novel variants were further evaluated in 112 ethnically matched controls. To confirm the novel mutations, short tandem repeat (STR) haplotypes were constructed to check the cosegregation with congenital cataract. The pathogenic potential of the novel mutations were assessed using bioinformatics tools, including Sorting Intolerant From Tolerant v5.1.1 (SIFT), Polymorphism Phenotyping v2 (PolyPhen-2), and Human Splicing Finder. The pathogenicity of all the mutations was evaluated according to the guidelines of the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) and InterVar software. Results: "pathogenic" using InterVar software in accordance with the ACMG standard. Mutations in crystallin genes were responsible for 33.33% of the Chinese families with congenital cataracts in this cohort. Conclusions: In this study, we identified four novel mutations in crystallin genes in Chinese families with congenital cataracts. The results expand the mutational spectrum of crystallin genes, which may be helpful for the molecular diagnosis of congenital cataracts in the era of precision medicine.