May 2003
Volume 44, Issue 13
Free
ARVO Annual Meeting Abstract  |   May 2003
MERTK R844C Mutant Shows Reduced Phosphorylation Activity in Transfected Cells and is Associated with Severe Rod-Cone Dystrophy
C.L. McHenry; Y. Liu; W. Feng; X. Ding; A. Gal; D. Vollrath; P.A. Sieving; D.A. Thompson
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • C.L. McHenry
    W.K. Kellogg Eye Center, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
  • Y. Liu
    Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States
  • W. Feng
    Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States
  • X. Ding
    Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States
  • A. Gal
    Institute für Humangenetik, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
  • D. Vollrath
    Institute für Humangenetik, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
  • P.A. Sieving
    NEI/NIDCD, Bethesda, MD, United States
  • D.A. Thompson
    NEI/NIDCD, Bethesda, MD, United States
  • Footnotes
    Commercial Relationships  C.L. McHenry, None; Y. Liu, None; W. Feng, None; X. Ding, None; A. Gal, None; D. Vollrath, None; P.A. Sieving, None; D.A. Thompson, None.
  • Footnotes
    Support  Grants from the NEI, Foundation Fighting Blindness, and British Retinitis Pigmentosa Society
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science May 2003, Vol.44, 3566. doi:
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      C.L. McHenry, Y. Liu, W. Feng, X. Ding, A. Gal, D. Vollrath, P.A. Sieving, D.A. Thompson; MERTK R844C Mutant Shows Reduced Phosphorylation Activity in Transfected Cells and is Associated with Severe Rod-Cone Dystrophy . Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2003;44(13):3566.

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Abstract

Abstract: : Purpose: Mutations in the MERTK gene encoding a receptor tyrosine kinase are responsible for retinal degeneration in the RCS rat, and are a cause of autosomal recessive RP in patients. This study reports novel MERTK mutations associated with severe rod and cone degeneration in a young patient. Methods: Missense mutations identified in the patient were introduced into MERTK expression contructs in pcDNA3.1, and these were used to transfect HEK293T cells. Recombinant MERTK was assayed using immunoprecipitation and immunoblot analysis with anti-MERTK and anti-phosphotyrosine antibodies. Transcript levels were estimated by RT-PCR. Results: By age 13 the patient had 20/60 and 20/200 acuities, with tunnel vision of 5o centrally and a far temporal peripheral crescent bilaterally; rod and cone ERGs were non-detectable. The fundi showed "bulls eye" macular atrophy and widespread RPE thinning. Three MERTK sequence variants were identified in DNA from the patient: 2164C>T (R722X) in exon 16 and 2593C>T (R865W) in exon 19 on the paternal allele, and 2530C>T (R844C) in exon 19 on the maternal allele. The R844C variant was not detected in screens of unaffected individuals, and R844 is conserved among human, rat, mouse, and chicken. Levels of recombinant MERTK wt and R865W protein in transfected cells were approximately equal, but R844C levels were less than 5% of wt. Tyrosine phosphorylation of cellular proteins was similarly reduced in cells transfected with R844C. Transcript levels for all three constructs were approximately equal. Pulse chase studies are being performed to determine whether R844C has reduced protein stability. Conclusions: R844C present in compound heterozygous form with a presumed null mutation R722X on the other allele results in a severe retinal degeneration phenotype with early age of onset. The R844C variant represents the first putative pathogenic MERTK missense mutation identified, with loss of tyrosine kinase activity potentially due to decreased protein stability.

Keywords: retinal degenerations: hereditary • retinal pigment epithelium • proteins encoded by disease genes 
© 2003, The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc., all rights reserved. Permission to republish any abstract or part of an abstract in any form must be obtained in writing from the ARVO Office prior to publication.
Copyright © 2025 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.
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