Lowe syndrome, an X-linked, inheritable disease with clinical symptoms of congenital cataracts, incomplete Fanconi syndrome, and mental retardation, has an approximate incidence of 1 in 500 000. Nearly 200 OCRL mutations related to Lowe syndrome have been found worldwide, with only ten mutations among the Chinese population. Since more mutations may exist in Chinese patients, we sequenced and analyzed the OCRL genes of six children with Lowe syndrome in a medical center in China.

Peripheral blood was collected from six children with Lowe syndrome and their relatives, and ten healthy adults. Genomic DNA was extracted from the blood and applied to amplify the twenty-four exons and flanking introns of the OCRL gene. The mutations were identified by sequencing.

Five mutations (c.1528C>T, c.2187insG, c.1366C>T, c.1499G>A, and c.2581G>A) of the OCRLgene were found in five families; c.2187insG and c.1366C>T were novel mutations. None of the five mutations were detected in 20 normal chromosomes. No mutation was found in the sixth family.

Two novel mutations of the OCRL gene, c.2187insG and c.1366C>T, were found in Chinese patients with Lowe syndrome, which will provide new clues for the etiology of Lowe syndrome and could be beneficial to genetic diagnosis of the condition.

 

Key words: Lowe syndrome; OCRL gene; mutation