title: Targeted exon sequencing in Usher syndrome type I.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Patients with Usher syndrome type I (USH1) have retinitis pigmentosa, profound congenital hearing loss, and vestibular ataxia. This syndrome is currently thought to be associated with at least six genes, which are encoded by over 180 exons. Here, we present the use of state-of-the-art techniques in the molecular diagnosis of a cohort of 47 USH1 probands.
  
  
  METHODS
  The cohort was studied with selective exon capture and next-generation sequencing of currently known inherited retinal degeneration genes, comparative genomic hybridization, and Sanger sequencing of new USH1 exons identified by human retinal transcriptome analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  With this approach, we were able to genetically solve 14 of the 47 probands by confirming the biallelic inheritance of mutations. We detected two likely pathogenic variants in an additional 19 patients, for whom family members were not available for cosegregation analysis to confirm biallelic inheritance. Ten patients, in addition to primary disease-causing mutations, carried rare likely pathogenic USH1 alleles or variants in other genes associated with deaf-blindness, which may influence disease phenotype. Twenty-one of the identified mutations were novel among the 33 definite or likely solved patients. Here, we also present a clinical description of the studied cohort at their initial visits.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found a remarkable genetic heterogeneity in the studied USH1 cohort with multiplicity of mutations, of which many were novel. No obvious influence of genotype on phenotype was found, possibly due to small sample sizes of the genotypes under study.
authors.affiliation: Ocular Genomics Institute, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
authors.forename: Kinga M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Bujakowska
authors.affiliation: Ocular Genomics Institute, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Consugar
authors.affiliation: Ocular Genomics Institute, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Place
authors.affiliation: Berman-Gund Laboratory for the Study of Retinal Degenerations, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
authors.forename: Shyana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Harper
authors.affiliation: Ocular Genomics Institute, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
authors.forename: Jaclyn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lena
authors.affiliation: Ocular Genomics Institute, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
authors.forename: Daniel G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Taub
authors.affiliation: Ocular Genomics Institute, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: Ocular Genomics Institute, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Navarro-Gomez
authors.affiliation: Berman-Gund Laboratory for the Study of Retinal Degenerations, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Weigel DiFranco
authors.affiliation: Ocular Genomics Institute, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
authors.forename: Michael H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Farkas
authors.affiliation: Ocular Genomics Institute, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
authors.forename: Xiaowu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gai
authors.affiliation: Ocular Genomics Institute, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States Berman-Gund Laboratory for the Study of Retinal Degenerations, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
authors.forename: Eliot L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Berson
authors.affiliation: Ocular Genomics Institute, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States Berman-Gund Laboratory for the Study of Retinal Degenerations, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
authors.forename: Eric A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Pierce
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D005091:Exons; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D009154:Mutation; D009218:Myosins / Q000378:metabolism*; D010375:Pedigree; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000379:methods*; D052245:Usher Syndromes / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D009218:Myosins
keywords: Usher syndrome; genetics; hearing loss; molecular diagnostic; next-generation sequencing; retina; retinitis pigmentosa; selective exon capture