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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1994

Mutations of the P gene in oculocutaneous albinism, ocular albinism, and Prader-Willi syndrome plus albinism.

BACKGROUND: Type II (tyrosinase-positive) oculocutaneous albinism is an autosomal recessive disorder that has recently been mapped to chromosome segment 15q11-q13. The frequency of this disorder is greatly increased in patients with Prader-Willi or Angelman syndrome, both of which involve deletions of chromosome 15q. The P protein is a transmembrane polypeptide that may transport small molecules such as tyrosine, the precursor of melanin. The P gene is located in chromosome segment 15q11-q13. METHODS: We studied the tyrosinase and P genes in three patients with type II oculocutaneous albinism, one of whom also had Prader-Willi syndrome, and in one patient with a milder syndrome known as autosomal recessive ocular albinism. Individual exons of these genes were amplified from the DNA of each patient by the polymerase chain reaction and screened for mutations by simultaneous analyses of single-stranded conformation polymorphisms and heteroduplexes and subsequent DNA sequencing. RESULTS: Mutations of the P gene were identified in all four patients. These included one frame shift, three missense mutations that result in amino acid substitutions, and one mutation that affects RNA splicing. The patient with Prader-Willi syndrome plus albinism had a typical deletion of the paternal chromosome 15, rendering him hemizygous for a maternally inherited mutant allele of the P gene. The child with ocular albinism was heterozygous for two different mutations in the P gene. CONCLUSIONS: Abnormalities of the P gene are associated with a wide range of clinical phenotypes, including type II oculocutaneous albinism, albinism associated with the Prader-Willi syndrome, and at least some cases of autosomal recessive ocular albinism.

Albinism↗
PubMed2003

Mutational analysis of the OA1 gene in ocular albinism.

Ocular albinism type 1 (OA1) is an X-linked disorder, mainly characterized by a severe reduction in visual acuity, foveal hypoplasia, nystagmus, hypopigmentation of the retina, the presence of macromelanosomes in the skin and eyes, and the misrouting of optic pathways, resulting in the loss of stereoscopic vision. We screened the OA1 gene for mutations in three unrelated Canadian and French families and in two isolated patients with OA1. We found three different missense mutations and two different nonsense mutations, three of which were novel. To date, 41 mutations (including missense mutations, insertions, and deletions) have been reported in the OA1 gene. Mutation and polymorphism data for this gene are available from the international albinism center albinism database website: http://www.cbc.umn.edu/tad/oa1map.htm.

Albinism, Ocular↗
PubMed1978

X-linked ocular albinism in Blacks. Ocular albinism cum pigmento.

X-linked ocular albinism can be an unsuspected cause of congenital nystagmus in blacks. In this study, eight of ten black ocular albinos from two kindreds had nonalbinotic, moderately pigmented fundi and no transillumination of the iris. We refer to this paradoxical condition as "ocular albinism cum pigmento." The only constant ophthalmoscopic feature was a foveal hypoplasia. Biopsy of clinically normal skin to demonstrate giant pigment granules is the most accurate means of diagnosis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Autosomal recessively inherited ocular albinism. A new form of ocular albinism affecting females as severely as males.

A new form of ocular albinism, autosomal recessively inherited ocular albinism (AROA), was studied in seven females and two males from five unrelated Caucasian kindreds. Affected patients have the impaired vision, translucent irides, congenital nystagmus, photophobia, albinotic fundi with hypoplasia of the fovea, and strabismus that are also found in X-linked ocular albinism (XOA). Unlike XOA, however, this form of ocular albinism is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait, with females affected as severely as males. Obligate heterozygotes of AROA lack the ocular abnormalities that are present in females heterozygous for XOA. Also, skin and hairbulb biopsy specimens do not reveal any abnormalities in patients with AROA, whereas giant pigment granules are found in patients heterozygous and hemizygous for XOA. The recognition of this disorder is imperative for proper diagnosis and responsible genetic counseling.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

New insights into ocular albinism type 1 (OA1): Mutations and polymorphisms of the OA1 gene.

Albinism ocular type 1 (OA1) is an X-linked type of albinism that mainly effects pigment production in the eye, resulting in hypopigmentation of the retina, nystagmus, strabismus, foveal hypoplasia, abnormal crossing of the optic fibers, and reduced visual acuity. The OA1 gene is located on chromosome Xp22.32 and the coding sequence is divided into nine exons. The protein is an integral transmembrane protein that has weak similarities to G protein-coupled receptors. A total of 25 missense, two nonsense, nine frameshift, and five splicing mutations have been reported in the OA1 gene associated with OA1. There are also several deletions of some or all exons of the OA1 gene with deletions of exon 2 resulting from unequal crossing-over, due to flanking Alu repeats. Mutation and polymorphism data on this gene is available from the International Albinism Center - Albinism Database web site (http://www.cbc.umn.edu/tad).

Albinism, Ocular↗
PubMed1981

X-linked ocular albinism: a family containing a manifesting heterozygote, and an affected male married to a female with autosomal recessive ocular albinism.

A pedigree of X-linked ocular albinism is presented containing nine affected males and 10 heterozygous females. One carrier female showed ocular changes similar to those of affected males. She is considered to be a manifesting heterozygote, a situation explained by the Lyon hypothesis. One affected male married a female with autosomal recessive ocular albinism and produced one daughter with the fundus changes of the carrier state of X-linked ocular albinism, and one son with normal eyes. The daughter did not show any evidence of the additive effect of the two different genes for X-linked and autosomal recessive ocular albinism.

Albinism↗
PubMed1992

Ocular albinism in a male with del (6)(q13-q15): candidate region for autosomal recessive ocular albinism?

We describe a boy with an interstitial deletion of 6(q13-q15) and include "coarse" facial features, upslanting palpebral fissures, thin vermilion border of the upper lip, elongated philtrum, developmental delay, and profound hypotonia. The child's eye findings, pedigree, paucity of maternal ocular changes, and lack of melanin macroglobules in the skin suggest that this individual's phenotype is clinically similar to that of autosomal recessive ocular albinism. Though it is possible that this deletion and his ophthalmic disorder are coincidental, we postulate that the ocular albinism may be due to hemizygosity for a paternally derived ocular albinism gene located on chromosome 6 in the region q13-q15. This patient's deletion is secondary to a recombination of a maternal intrachromosomal inverted insertion of this region. Of the 7 reported 6q1 deletions, this is the only case that is due to a familial chromosome rearrangement.

Albinism, Ocular↗
PubMed2000

Defective intracellular transport and processing of OA1 is a major cause of ocular albinism type 1.

Ocular albinism type 1 (OA1) is an X-linked disorder mainly characterized by a severe reduction of visual acuity, hypopigmentation of the retina and the presence of macromelanosomes in the skin and eyes. Various types of mutation have been identified within the OA1 gene in patients with the disorder, including several missense mutations of unknown functional significance. In order to shed light into the molecular pathogenesis of ocular albinism and possibly define critical functional domains within the OA1 protein, we characterized 19 independent missense mutations with respect to processing and subcellular distribution on expression in COS-7 cells. Our analysis indicates the presence of at least two distinct biochemical defects associated with the different missense mutations. Eleven of the nineteen OA1 mutants (approximately 60%) were retained in the endoplasmic reticulum, showing defecNStive intracellular transport and glycosylation, consistent with protein misfolding. The remaining eight of the nineteen OA1 mutants (approximately 40%) displayed sorting and processing behaviours indistinguishable from those of the wild-type protein. Consistent with our recent findings that OA1 represents a novel type of intracellular G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), we found that most of these latter mutations cluster within the second and third cytosolic loops, two regions that in canonical GPCRs are known to be critical for their downstream signaling, including G protein-coupling and effector activation. The biochemical analysis of OA1 mutations performed in this study provides important insights into the structure-function relationships of the OA1 protein and implies protein misfolding as a major pathogenic mechanism in OA1.

Albinism, Ocular↗
PubMed2000

Oa1 knock-out: new insights on the pathogenesis of ocular albinism type 1.

Ocular albinism type I (OA1) is an X-linked disorder characterized by severe reduction of visual acuity, strabismus, photophobia and nystagmus. Ophthalmologic examination reveals hypopigmentation of the retina, foveal hypoplasia and iris translucency. Microscopic examination of both retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and skin melanocytes shows the presence of large pigment granules called giant melanosomes or macromelanosomes. In this study, we have generated and characterized Oa1-deficient mice by gene targeting (KO). The KO males are viable, fertile and phenotypically indistinguishable from the wild-type littermates. Ophthalmologic examination shows hypopigmentation of the ocular fundus in mutant animals compared with wild-type. Analysis of the retinofugal pathway reveals a reduction in the size of the uncrossed pathway, demonstrating a misrouting of the optic fibres at the chiasm, as observed in OA1 patients. Microscopic examination of the RPE shows the presence of giant melanosomes comparable with those described in OA1 patients. Ultrastructural analysis of the RPE cells, suggests that the giant melanosomes may form by abnormal growth of single melanosomes, rather than the fusion of several, shedding light on the pathogenesis of ocular albinism.

Albinism, Ocular↗
PubMed2006

Assessment of cortical visual field representations with multifocal VEPs in control subjects, patients with albinism, and female carriers of ocular albinism.

PURPOSE: In human albinism, part of the temporal retina projects abnormally to the contralateral hemisphere. This study was undertaken to test whether this abnormality can be identified with multifocal visual evoked potentials (mfVEPs) and whether it is evident in carriers of ocular albinism (OA1). METHODS: In 12 control subjects, 11 patients with albinism, and 5 female carriers of OA1 monocular pattern-reversal mfVEPs were recorded for 60 locations comprising a visual field of 44 degrees diameter (VERIS ver. 4.8; EDI, San Mateo, CA). For each eye and each stimulus location interhemispheric difference potentials were calculated and correlated with each other to assess the lateralization of the responses: positive and negative correlations indicate lateralization on same or opposite hemispheres, respectively. Misrouted optic nerves are expected to yield negative interocular correlations. Visual field locations without recordable responses were excluded from the analysis using a signal-to-noise threshold. The analysis also allowed assessment of the sensitivity and specificity of the detection of projection abnormalities. RESULTS: Sizable mfVEPs were obtained in all control subjects, carriers, and the three patients with albinism who had negligible nystagmus and visual acuity>0.25. Ninety-seven percent and 99% of the visual field locations were identified as normal in control subjects and carriers, respectively. While this indicates a specificity of the procedure of 97%, the sensitivity was estimated as 75%. Finally, in albinism, 55% percent of the responses were abnormally represented. CONCLUSIONS: In the absence of nystagmus mfVEPs are a powerful tool to identify, in a spatially resolved manner, abnormal visual field representations. No local representation abnormalities were evident in the female carriers of OA1.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Eight previously unidentified mutations found in the OA1 ocular albinism gene.

BACKGROUND: Ocular albinism type 1 (OA1) is an X-linked ocular disorder characterized by a severe reduction in visual acuity, nystagmus, hypopigmentation of the retinal pigmented epithelium, foveal hypoplasia, macromelanosomes in pigmented skin and eye cells, and misrouting of the optical tracts. This disease is primarily caused by mutations in the OA1 gene. METHODS: The ophthalmologic phenotype of the patients and their family members was characterized. We screened for mutations in the OA1 gene by direct sequencing of the nine PCR-amplified exons, and for genomic deletions by PCR-amplification of large DNA fragments. RESULTS: We sequenced the nine exons of the OA1 gene in 72 individuals and found ten different mutations in seven unrelated families and three sporadic cases. The ten mutations include an amino acid substitution and a premature stop codon previously reported by our team, and eight previously unidentified mutations: three amino acid substitutions, a duplication, a deletion, an insertion and two splice-site mutations. The use of a novel Taq polymerase enabled us to amplify large genomic fragments covering the OA1 gene. and to detect very likely six distinct large deletions. Furthermore, we were able to confirm that there was no deletion in twenty one patients where no mutation had been found. CONCLUSION: The identified mutations affect highly conserved amino acids, cause frameshifts or alternative splicing, thus affecting folding of the OA1 G protein coupled receptor, interactions of OA1 with its G protein and/or binding with its ligand.

Albinism, Ocular↗
PubMed1998

OA1 mutations and deletions in X-linked ocular albinism.

X-linked ocular albinism (OA1), Nettleship-Falls type, is characterized by decreased ocular pigmentation, foveal hypoplasia, nystagmus, photodysphoria, and reduced visual acuity. Affected males usually demonstrate melanin macroglobules on skin biopsy. We now report results of deletion and mutation screening of the full-length OA1 gene in 29 unrelated North American and Australian X-linked ocular albinism (OA) probands, including five with additional, nonocular phenotypic abnormalities (Schnur et al. 1994). We detected 13 intragenic gene deletions, including 3 of exon 1, 2 of exon 2, 2 of exon 4, and 6 others, which span exons 2-8. Eight new missense mutations were identified, which cluster within exons 1, 2, 3, and 6 in conserved and/or putative transmembrane domains of the protein. There was also a splice acceptor-site mutation, a nonsense mutation, a single base deletion, and a previously reported 17-bp exon 1 deletion. All patients with nonocular phenotypic abnormalities had detectable mutations. In summary, 26 (approximately 90%) of 29 probands had detectable alterations of OA1, thus confirming that OA1 is the major locus for X-linked OA.

Albinism, Ocular↗
PubMed1996

Isolation and characterization of a mouse homolog of the X-linked ocular albinism (OA1) gene.

Ocular albinism type 1 (OA1) is an X-linked human genetic disorder that affects retinal pigment cells and, to a lesser degree, neural crest-derived melanocytes. The OA1 gene is located close to the pseudoautosomal region and predicts a novel protein whose function is unknown. However, histologic studies of affected patients have suggested a potential role in melanosome biogenesis. Here we report the isolation and characterization of the mouse homolog of the human OA1 gene, termed Moa1. Two Moa1 isoforms were isolated from a melanoma cDNA library and predicted to encode proteins of 405 and 249 amino acids with six and two transmembrane-spanning regions, respectively. Interspecific backcross mapping yielded a map order and distances (cM) of cen-Moa1-3.1 +/- 1.8-Piga-2.1 +/- 1.5-Amel, indicating that Moa1 is located much farther away from the pseudoautosomal region than its human homolog. In adult tissues, both Moa1 isoforms were detected in the eye by Northern hybridization. In neonatal tissues, Moa1 RNA was detected in both skin and eyes by Northern hybridization and was not affected by the absence of pigment in mice carrying the albino mutation, or by the type of pigment synthesized, i.e., eumelanin vs pheomelanin, in mice carrying the black-and-tan mutation. Expression of Moa1 RNA was not detected in embryonic tissues by Northern analysis or by in situ hybridization despite the active synthesis of ocular pigment by E16.5. These results provide insight into the structure and possible function of the OA1 protein and suggest a more complex relationship between the human and mouse X chromosomes than was previously thought to exist.

Albinism, Ocular↗
PubMed1995

Analysis of the OA1 gene reveals mutations in only one-third of patients with X-linked ocular albinism.

The locus for ocular albinism type 1 (OA1) has been assigned to the Xp22.3 region through both linkage and deletion mapping. The disorder was found to be genetically homogeneous, as all informative families showed convincing linkage data with markers on Xp22.3 and all identified deletions involved in the same region. The OA1 gene recently was cloned and several intragenic deletions were identified in affected individuals. We have characterized the genomic structure of the OA1 gene, which spans approximately 40 kb of genomic DNA and contains nine exons. A highly polymorphic dinucleotide repeat was identified in intron 1, that provides a useful tool for molecular diagnosis. Knowledge of the intron/exon boundaries allowed us to search for point mutations in patients' genomic DNA. All nine exons of the OA1 gene, as well as the 5' and 3' untranslated regions, were scanned for point mutations in PCR-amplified DNA from 60 OA1 patients. The mutations identified include: two frameshifts and a splice site mutation leading to truncated OA1 proteins; a deletion of a threonine codon at position 290; and four missense mutations,two of which involve amino acids located within putative transmembrane domains. Two of the mutations each occur in three apparently unrelated families, consistent with previous observations of a founder effect in OA1. Surprisingly, mutations were detected in only one-third of the patients (21 of 60) ascertained. We postulate that mutations not yet identified in either regulatory elements of the OA1 gene, or in other gene(s) located within the same chromosomal region, may be common cause of X-linked ocular albinism.

Albinism, Ocular↗
PubMed1990

Hypoplastic corpus callosum in ocular albinism: indication of a global disturbance of neuronal migration.

Ocular albinism is distinguished from the more common oculocutaneous albinism by the presence of normal pigmentation of skin and hair in the former condition. Recent studies of ocular albinism have shown that the hypopigmentation of the optic fundus is associated with a number of anomalies of neuronal wiring involving the visual system. We present a patient with ocular albinism who also has a hypoplastic corpus callosum as determined by analysis of midsagittal magnetic resonance imaging scans. Previous studies of the hypoplastic corpus callosum indicate that this anomaly is a defect in neuronal migration as well. The finding of a hypoplastic corpus callosum in a patient with ocular albinism suggests a more generalized defect in neuronal migration not limited to the visual system.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1995

Cloning of a human homologue of the Xenopus laevis APX gene from the ocular albinism type 1 critical region.

Ocular albinism type 1 (OA1) is an X-linked recessive disorder characterized by a major impairment of visual acuity, nystagmus, strabismus, photophobia and retinal hypopigmentation. From the analysis of patients carrying deletions and translocations involving the distal short arm of the X chromosome (Xp22.3) we have identified a region of approximately 110 kb in which the OA1 gene must lie. We have extensively searched for genes in this region using a variety of techniques which included exon amplification, cDNA selection and direct hybridization of cosmid inserts to cDNA libraries. Putative exons identified by exon amplification were used to screen a human retina cDNA library and several cDNA clones corresponding to an approximately 7.5 kb transcript were isolated and characterized. Transcripts of this newly identified gene were found to be abundant in retina and melanoma and could also be detected in brain, placenta, lung, kidney and pancreas. Interestingly, sequence analysis revealed that this new gene encodes a 1616 amino acid protein sharing significant similarities with the Apical Protein from Xenopus laevis (APX) which is implicated in amiloride-sensitive sodium channel activity. The gene, termed APXL (APX-Like), spans approximately 160 kb, contains 10 exons and covers over 70% of the 110 kb critical region for OA1. A truncated pseudogene sharing very high levels of homology with the rat eIF-5 gene, a eukaryotic translation initiation factor, was found to lie in the middle of intron 1. APXL was found deleted in two patients with contiguous gene syndromes including OA1 and in one patient with isolated OA1. Mapping, expression and patient analysis data led us to consider the APXL gene a strong candidate for the OA1 gene. DNA from 57 unrelated patients with OA1 was, therefore, scanned for mutations in the coding region, using both SSCP analysis and direct sequencing. No functionally significant mutation was identified, suggesting that APXL is not directly involved in OA1. Further studies are needed to clarify the physiologic role of this highly conserved gene.

Albinism, Ocular↗