Autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa secondary to pre-mRNA splicing-factor gene PRPF31 (RP11): review of disease mechanism and report of a family with a novel 3-base pair insertion

Abstract

Several forms of autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (adRP) are caused by mutations in genes encoding proteins that are ubiquitously expressed and involved in the pre-mRNA spliceosome such as PRPF31. This paper provides an overview of the molecular genetics, pathophysiology, and mechanism for incomplete penetrance and retina-specific disease in pedigrees of families who harbor mutations in PRPF31 (RP11). The molecular and clinical features of a family with a novel 3-base insertion, c.914_915insTGT (p.Val305_Asp306insVal) in exon 9 of PRPF31 are described to illustrate the salient clinical features of mutations in this gene.