Research Article RHO Mutations (p.W126L and p.A346P) in Two Japanese Families with Autosomal Dominant Retinitis Pigmentosa

Copyright © 2014 Satoshi Katagiri et al.This is an open access article distributed under the Creative CommonsAttribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Purpose. To investigate genetic and clinical features of patients with rhodopsin (RHO) mutations in two Japanese families with autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (adRP).Methods. Whole-exome sequence analysis was performed in ten adRP families. Identified RHO mutations for the cosegregation analysis were confirmed by Sanger sequencing. Ophthalmic examinations were performed to evaluate the RP phenotypes. The impact of the RHO mutation on the rhodopsin conformation was examined by molecularmodeling analysis.Results. In two adRP families, we identified twoRHOmutations (c.377G>T (p.W126L) and c.1036G>C (p.A346P)), one of which was novel. Complete cosegregation was confirmed for each mutation exhibiting the RP phenotype in both families. Molecular modeling predicted that the novel mutation (p.W126L) might impair rhodopsin function by affecting its conformational transition in the light-adapted form. Clinical phenotypes showed that patients with p.W126L exhibited sector RP