To investigate functional abnormalities in mutations in the peripherin (RDS) gene leading to different clinical types of autosomal dominant retinal disease--macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa.
This study reveals genetic heterogeneity for BSMD by the identification of a BSMD family, which is not associated with a mutation in the peripherin/RDS gene nor with any other known non-syndromic retinal disease gene.
Mutations in the peripherin/RDS gene have been identified in families with various retinopathies including those affecting primarily the macula and those restricted to the retinal periphery.
Studies using animal models with Rds mutations provide valuable insight into Rds gene function and regulation; and a better understanding of the physiology, pathology, and underlying degenerative mechanisms of inherited retinal disease.
The retinal disease gene peripherin 2 (PRPH2) is essential for the formation of photoreceptor outer segments (OSs), where it functions in oligomers with and without its homologue ROM1.