RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Comprehensive molecular diagnosis of 179 Leber congenital amaurosis and juvenile retinitis pigmentosa patients by targeted next generation sequencing JF Journal of Medical Genetics JO J Med Genet FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd SP 674 OP 688 DO 10.1136/jmedgenet-2013-101558 VO 50 IS 10 A1 Xia Wang A1 Hui Wang A1 Vincent Sun A1 Han-Fang Tuan A1 Vafa Keser A1 Keqing Wang A1 Huanan Ren A1 Irma Lopez A1 Jacques E Zaneveld A1 Sorath Siddiqui A1 Stephanie Bowles A1 Ayesha Khan A1 Jason Salvo A1 Samuel G Jacobson A1 Alessandro Iannaccone A1 Feng Wang A1 David Birch A1 John R Heckenlively A1 Gerald A Fishman A1 Elias I Traboulsi A1 Yumei Li A1 Dianna Wheaton A1 Robert K Koenekoop A1 Rui Chen YR 2013 UL http://jmg.bmj.com/content/50/10/674.abstract AB Background Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) and juvenile retinitis pigmentosa (RP) are inherited retinal diseases that cause early onset severe visual impairment. An accurate molecular diagnosis can refine the clinical diagnosis and allow gene specific treatments. Methods We developed a capture panel that enriches the exonic DNA of 163 known retinal disease genes. Using this panel, we performed targeted next generation sequencing (NGS) for a large cohort of 179 unrelated and prescreened patients with the clinical diagnosis of LCA or juvenile RP. Systematic NGS data analysis, Sanger sequencing validation, and segregation analysis were utilised to identify the pathogenic mutations. Patients were revisited to examine the potential phenotypic ambiguity at the time of initial diagnosis. Results Pathogenic mutations for 72 patients (40%) were identified, including 45 novel mutations. Of these 72 patients, 58 carried mutations in known LCA or juvenile RP genes and exhibited corresponding phenotypes, while 14 carried mutations in retinal disease genes that were not consistent with their initial clinical diagnosis. We revisited patients in the latter case and found that homozygous mutations in PRPH2 can cause LCA/juvenile RP. Guided by the molecular diagnosis, we reclassified the clinical diagnosis in two patients. Conclusions We have identified a novel gene and a large number of novel mutations that are associated with LCA/juvenile RP. Our results highlight the importance of molecular diagnosis as an integral part of clinical diagnosis.