Whole exome sequencing analysis identifies novel Stargardt disease-related gene mutations in Chinese Stargardt disease and retinitis pigmentosa patients

Association of body mass index and PXDNL gene variants with acute primary angle closure in southern Chinese population

This study aimed to evaluate the association of body mass index (BMI) and the weight-related gene, peroxidasin-like (PXDNL), with acute primary angle closure (APAC) and primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG) in southern Chinese population. Total 4700 study subjects (1024 APAC, 781 PACG, and 2895 control subjects) with complete ophthalmic examinations were enrolled into this study. The association of BMI with APAC, PACG and ocular biometric parameters was evaluated. Three PXDNL missense variants were genotyped by TaqMan assay, and their association with APAC and PACG was also investigated. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that BMI and body weight were significantly associated with both APAC and PACG (P < 0.01). Multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated that each 1 kg/m2 increased in BMI was associated with 0.038 mm increase in axial length, 0.018 mm increase in central anterior chamber depth, 0.002 mm increase in lens position, 0.012 mm increase in corneal diameter and 0.014 mm decrease in lens thickness among the APAC subjects (P < 0.001), but not with PACG. Genetic association analysis identified that PXDNL rs11985241-rs16916207 CT haplotype conferred a higher risk to APAC (OR = 1.25, P = 0.004) than the TG haplotype, but not with PACG. The APAC subjects carrying the rs11985241 C or rs16916207 T alleles showed significantly lower weight than those carrying the corresponding protective alleles. In summary, this study revealed that lower BMI could be associated with higher risk of APAC. PXDNL could be a new associated gene for APAC.

PRPF31 interacts with PRPH2 confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation and co-localization

Both PRPF31 and PRPH2 are the causative genes for retinitis pigmentosa. And both of them are associated with the balance of rhodopsin. In this study, we aim to investigate the co-expression and interaction of PRPF31 and PRPH2. We used PRPF31-eGFP, PRPF31-3xFlag and PRPH2-mCherry vectors were transfected into HEK293T and APRE-19 cells. Immunoblotting and co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) were used for gene expression validation and protein interaction. Immunofluorescence staining assay was used to test the co-localization analysis of PRPF31 and PRPH2. Co-IP experiments showed that PRPF31 could be pulled down with an anti-PRPH2 antibody. There was co-localization between PRPF31 and PRPH2 in HEK293T, APRE-19 and mouse retina. The Co-IP and co-localization experiments suggest that PRPF31 interacted with PRPH2.