Targeted next-generation sequencing identifies ABCA4 mutations in Chinese families with childhood-onset and adult-onset Stargardt disease.

Content Provider	Europe PMC
Author	Qu, Ling-hui Jin, Xin Zeng, Chao Zhou, Nian-gou Liu, Yan-hong Lin, Ye
Copyright Year	2021
Abstract	AbstractBackground: Stargardt disease (STGD) is the most common form of juvenile macular dystrophy associated with progressive central vision loss, and is agenetically and clinically heterogeneous disease. Molecular diagnosis is of great significance in aiding the clinical diagnosis, helping to determine the phenotypic severity and visual prognosis. In the present study, we determined the clinical and genetic features of seven childhood-onset and three adult-onset Chinese STGD families. We performed capture next-generation sequencing (NGS) of the probands and searched for potentially disease-causing genetic variants in previously identified retinal or macular dystrophy genes.Methods: In all, ten unrelated Chinese families were enrolled. Panel-based NGS was performed to identify potentially disease-causing genetic variants in previously identified retinal or macular dystrophy genes, including the five known STGD genes (ABCA4, PROM1, PRPH2, VMD2, and ELOVL4). Variant analysis, Sanger validation, and segregation tests were utilized to validate the disease-causing mutations in these families.Results: Using systematic data analysis with an established bioinformatics pipeline and segregation analysis, 17 pathogenic mutations in ABCA4 were identified in the 10 STGD families. Four of these mutations were novel: c.371delG, c.681T > G, c.5509C > T, and EX37del. Childhood-onset STGD was associated with severe visual loss, generalized retinal dysfunction and was due to more severe variants in ABCA4 than those found in adult-onset disease.Conclusions: We expand the existing spectrum of STGD and reveal the genotype–phenotype relationships of the ABCA4 mutations in Chinese patients. Childhood-onset STGD lies at the severe end of the spectrum of ABCA4-associated retinal phenotypes.
Page Count	13
ISSN	01448463
Volume Number	41
PubMed Central reference number	PMC8173525
Issue Number	6
PubMed reference number	33988224
Journal	Bioscience Reports [Biosci. Rep]
e-ISSN	15734935
DOI	10.1042/BSR20203497
Language	English
Publisher	Portland Press Ltd.
Publisher Date	2021-06-01
Access Restriction	Open
Rights License	This is an open access article published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society and distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CC BY). © 2021 The Author(s).
Subject Keyword	ABCA4 gene childhood-onset Mutation detection Next-generation sequencing Stargardt disease
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Cell Biology Molecular Biology Biochemistry Biophysics