PAX6 molecular analysis and genotype–phenotype correlations in families with aniridia from Australasia and Southeast Asia

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License 3.0, or CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 (see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ for license terms)Purpose Aniridia is a congenital disorder caused by variants in the PAX6 gene. In this study, we assessed the involvement of PAX6 in patients with aniridia from Australasia and Southeast Asia. Methods Twenty-nine individuals with aniridia from 18 families originating from Australia, New Caledonia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan were included. The PAX6 gene was investigated for sequence variants and analyzed for deletions with multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification. Results We identified 11 sequence variants and six chromosomal deletions, including one in mosaic. Four deleterious sequence variants were novel: p.(Pro81HisfsTer12), p.(Gln274Ter), p.(Ile29Thr), and p.(Met1?). Ocular complications were associated with a progressive loss of visual function as shown by a visual acuity ≤ 1.00 logMAR reported in 65% of eyes. The prevalence of keratopathy was statistically significantly higher in the Australasian cohort (78.6%) compared with the Southeast Asian cohort (9.1%, p=0.002). Variants resulting in protein truncating codons displayed limited genotype–phenotype correlations compared with other variants. Conclusions PAX6 variants and deletions were identified in 94% of patients with aniridia from Australasia and Southeast Asia. This study is the first report of aniridia and variations in PAX6 in individuals from Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and New Caledonia, and the largest cohort from Australia

PAX6 molecular analysis and genotype–phenotype correlations in families with aniridia from Australasia and Southeast Asia

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License 3.0, or CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 (see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ for license terms)Purpose Aniridia is a congenital disorder caused by variants in the PAX6 gene. In this study, we assessed the involvement of PAX6 in patients with aniridia from Australasia and Southeast Asia. Methods Twenty-nine individuals with aniridia from 18 families originating from Australia, New Caledonia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan were included. The PAX6 gene was investigated for sequence variants and analyzed for deletions with multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification. Results We identified 11 sequence variants and six chromosomal deletions, including one in mosaic. Four deleterious sequence variants were novel: p.(Pro81HisfsTer12), p.(Gln274Ter), p.(Ile29Thr), and p.(Met1?). Ocular complications were associated with a progressive loss of visual function as shown by a visual acuity ≤ 1.00 logMAR reported in 65% of eyes. The prevalence of keratopathy was statistically significantly higher in the Australasian cohort (78.6%) compared with the Southeast Asian cohort (9.1%, p=0.002). Variants resulting in protein truncating codons displayed limited genotype–phenotype correlations compared with other variants. Conclusions PAX6 variants and deletions were identified in 94% of patients with aniridia from Australasia and Southeast Asia. This study is the first report of aniridia and variations in PAX6 in individuals from Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and New Caledonia, and the largest cohort from Australia

SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity are associated with genetic variants affecting gene expression in a variety of tissues

Variability in SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity between individuals is partly due to genetic factors. Here, we identify 4 genomic loci with suggestive associations for SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and 19 for COVID-19 disease severity. Four of these 23 loci likely have an ethnicity-specific component. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) signals in 11 loci colocalize with expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) associated with the expression of 20 genes in 62 tissues/cell types (range: 1:43 tissues/gene), including lung, brain, heart, muscle, and skin as well as the digestive system and immune system. We perform genetic fine mapping to compute 99% credible SNP sets, which identify 10 GWAS loci that have eight or fewer SNPs in the credible set, including three loci with one single likely causal SNP. Our study suggests that the diverse symptoms and disease severity of COVID-19 observed between individuals is associated with variants across the genome, affecting gene expression levels in a wide variety of tissue types

A first update on mapping the human genetic architecture of COVID-19

peer reviewe

Vascular Risk Factors for Central Retinal Artery Occlusion

The aim of this study is to determine the proportion of patients presenting with thromboembolic central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) who had undiagnosed vascular risk factors amenable to modification

Ocular Neo-Vascularization Following Central Retinal Artery Occlusion

Considerable debate exists within the literature as to the incidence and etiology of neo-vascularization following central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO)