Whole Exome Sequencing Reveals Novel and Recurrent Disease-Causing Variants in Lens Specific Gap Junctional Protein Encoding Genes Causing Congenital Cataract.

Pediatric cataract is clinically and genetically heterogeneous and is the most common cause of childhood blindness worldwide. In this study, we aimed to identify disease-causing variants in three large British families and one isolated case with autosomal dominant congenital cataract, using whole exome sequencing. We identified four different heterozygous variants, three in the large families and one in the isolated case. Family A, with a novel missense variant (c.178G>C, p.Gly60Arg) inGJA8with lamellar cataract; family B, with a recurrent variant inGJA8(c.262C>T, p.Pro88Ser) associated with nuclear cataract; and family C, with a novel variant inGJA3(c.771dupC, p.Ser258GlnfsTer68) causing a lamellar phenotype. Individual D had a novel variant inGJA3(c.82G>T, p.Val28Leu) associated with congenital cataract. Each sequence variant was found to co-segregate with disease. Here, we report three novel and one recurrent disease-causing sequence variant in the gap junctional protein encoding genes causing autosomal dominant congenital cataract. Our study further extends the mutation spectrum of these genes and further facilitates clinical diagnosis. A recurrent p.P88S variant inGJA8causing isolated nuclear cataract provides evidence of further phenotypic heterogeneity associated with this variant.