title: Mutations in CEP78 Cause Cone-Rod Dystrophy and Hearing Loss Associated with Primary-Cilia Defects.
abstract: Cone-rod degeneration (CRD) belongs to the disease spectrum of retinal degenerations, a group of hereditary disorders characterized by an extreme clinical and genetic heterogeneity. It mainly differentiates from other retinal dystrophies, and in particular from the more frequent disease retinitis pigmentosa, because cone photoreceptors degenerate at a higher rate than rod photoreceptors, causing severe deficiency of central vision. After exome analysis of a cohort of individuals with CRD, we identified biallelic mutations in the orphan gene CEP78 in three subjects from two families: one from Greece and another from Sweden. The Greek subject, from the island of Crete, was homozygous for the c.499+1G>T (IVS3+1G>T) mutation in intron 3. The Swedish subjects, two siblings, were compound heterozygotes for the nearby mutation c.499+5G>A (IVS3+5G>A) and for the frameshift-causing variant c.633delC (p.Trp212Glyfs(∗)18). In addition to CRD, these three individuals had hearing loss or hearing deficit. Immunostaining highlighted the presence of CEP78 in the inner segments of retinal photoreceptors, predominantly of cones, and at the base of the primary cilium of fibroblasts. Interaction studies also showed that CEP78 binds to FAM161A, another ciliary protein associated with retinal degeneration. Finally, analysis of skin fibroblasts derived from affected individuals revealed abnormal ciliary morphology, as compared to that of control cells. Altogether, our data strongly suggest that mutations in CEP78 cause a previously undescribed clinical entity of a ciliary nature characterized by blindness and deafness but clearly distinct from Usher syndrome, a condition for which visual impairment is due to retinitis pigmentosa.
authors: Department of Computational Biology, Unit of Medical Genetics, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors: Konstantinos
authors: K
authors: Nikopoulos
authors: Department of Computational Biology, Unit of Medical Genetics, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors: Pietro
authors: P
authors: Farinelli
authors: Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Lausanne University Hospital, 1008 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors: Basilio
authors: B
authors: Giangreco
authors: Department of Ophthalmology, Medical School, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece.
authors: Chrysanthi
authors: C
authors: Tsika
authors: Department of Computational Biology, Unit of Medical Genetics, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland; Center for Molecular Diseases, Lausanne University Hospital, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors: Beryl
authors: B
authors: Royer-Bertrand
authors: Unit of Gene Therapy and Stem Cell Biology, Jules Gonin Ophthalmic Hospital, 1004 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors: Martial K
authors: MK
authors: Mbefo
authors: Department of Computational Biology, Unit of Medical Genetics, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors: Nicola
authors: N
authors: Bedoni
authors: Lund University, Skane University Hospital, Department of Ophthalmology, 20502 Lund, Sweden.
authors: Ulrika
authors: U
authors: Kjellström
authors: Department of Computational Biology, Unit of Medical Genetics, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors: Ikram
authors: I
authors: El Zaoui
authors: Department of Computational Biology, Unit of Medical Genetics, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors: Silvio Alessandro
authors: SA
authors: Di Gioia
authors: Department of Computational Biology, Unit of Medical Genetics, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors: Sara
authors: S
authors: Balzano
authors: Department of Computational Biology, Unit of Medical Genetics, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors: Katarina
authors: K
authors: Cisarova
authors: Service of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Lausanne University Hospital, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors: Andrea
authors: A
authors: Messina
authors: Unit of Gene Therapy and Stem Cell Biology, Jules Gonin Ophthalmic Hospital, 1004 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors: Sarah
authors: S
authors: Decembrini
authors: Department of Ophthalmology, Medical School, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece.
authors: Sotiris
authors: S
authors: Plainis
authors: Department of Ophthalmology, Medical School, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece.
authors: Styliani V
authors: SV
authors: Blazaki
authors: Department of Human Genetics and Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, 6525GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: Muhammad Imran
authors: MI
authors: Khan
authors: Department of Human Genetics and Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, 6525GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: Shazia
authors: S
authors: Micheal
authors: Medical Proteome Center, Institute for Ophthalmic Research, University of Tuebingen, 72074 Tuebingen, Germany.
authors: Karsten
authors: K
authors: Boldt
authors: Medical Proteome Center, Institute for Ophthalmic Research, University of Tuebingen, 72074 Tuebingen, Germany.
authors: Marius
authors: M
authors: Ueffing
authors: Department of Ophthalmology, Jules Gonin Ophthalmic Hospital, 1004 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors: Alexandre P
authors: AP
authors: Moulin
authors: Department of Human Genetics and Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, 6525GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Donders Center for Neuroscience, Radboud University, 6525EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: Frans P M
authors: FPM
authors: Cremers
authors: Department of Human Genetics and Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, 6525GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: Ronald
authors: R
authors: Roepman
authors: Unit of Gene Therapy and Stem Cell Biology, Jules Gonin Ophthalmic Hospital, 1004 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors: Yvan
authors: Y
authors: Arsenijevic
authors: Department of Ophthalmology, Medical School, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece.
authors: Miltiadis K
authors: MK
authors: Tsilimbaris
authors: Lund University, Skane University Hospital, Department of Ophthalmology, 20502 Lund, Sweden.
authors: Sten
authors: S
authors: Andréasson
authors: Department of Computational Biology, Unit of Medical Genetics, University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland. Electronic address: carlo.rivolta@unil.ch.
authors: Carlo
authors: C
authors: Rivolta
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D002102:Cadaver; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D002923:Cilia / Q000473:pathology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D000071700:Cone-Rod Dystrophies / Q000150:complications* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D059472:Exome / Q000235:genetics; D005123:Eye / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D005136:Eye Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000473:pathology; D006115:Greece; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006579:Heterozygote; D006720:Homozygote; D006801:Humans; D007438:Introns / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008875:Middle Aged; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics*; D010375:Pedigree; D011485:Protein Binding; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D013548:Sweden; D059467:Transcriptome; D052245:Usher Syndromes / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: C000618001:CEP78 protein, human; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D005136:Eye Proteins; C552553:FAM161A protein, human; D012333:RNA, Messenger