Human CEP290 blocking peptide

Objective: To evaluate changes in visual acuity (VA) over time in patients with Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) and mutations in the CEP290 gene. Methods: Visual acuity was determined at the initial and most recent visits of 43 patients with LCA and CEP290 mutations. The main outcome measures included the best-corrected VA at the initial and most recent visits, as well as the correlation between age and VA. Results: At the initial visit, 14 patients had measurable chart VA in the better-seeing eye, 25 patients had nonmeasurable chart VA, and 4 young patients did not have VA assessed. At the most recent visit, 15 patients had measurable chart VA and 28 had nonmeasurable chart VA. The average interval between the 2 visits was 10.4 years range, 2-47 years). For patients with measurable chart VA, the median logMAR value at the initial visit (0.75; range, 0.10-2.30) and at the most recent visit (0.70; range, 0.10-2.00) did not differ significantly (P > .05). There was no significant relationship between VA and age. Conclusions: Patients with LCA and CEP290 mutations had a wide spectrum of VA that was not related to age or length of follow-up. Severe VA loss was observed in most, but not all, patients in the first decade. These data will help clinicians provide counseling on VA changes in patients with CEP290 mutations and could be of value for future treatment trials. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2013;131(2):178-182

Cilia play important signaling or motile functions in various organisms. In Human, cilia dysfunctions are responsible for a wide range of diseases, called ciliopathies. Cilia assembly is a tightly controlled process, which starts with the conversion of the centriole into a basal body, leading to the formation of the ciliary bud that protrudes inside a ciliary vesicle and/or ultimately at the cell surface. Ciliary bud formation is associated with the assembly of the transition zone (TZ), a complex architecture of proteins of the ciliary base which plays critical functions in gating proteins in and out of the ciliary compartment. Many proteins are involved in the assembly of the TZ, which shows structural and functional variations in different cell types or organisms. In this review, we discuss how a particular complex, composed of members of the DZIP1, CBY and FAM92 families of proteins, is required for the initial stages of cilia assembly leading to ciliary bud formation and how their functional hierarchy contributes to TZ assembly. Moreover, we summarize how evidences in Drosophila reveal functional differences of the DZIP1-CBY-FAM92 complex in the different ciliated tissues of this organism. Whereas it is essential for proper TZ assembly in the two types of ciliated tissues, it is involved in stable anchoring of basal bodies to the plasma membrane in male germ cells. Overall, the DZIP1-CBY-FAM92 complex reveals a molecular assembly pathway required for the initial stages of ciliary bud formation and that is conserved from Drosophila to Human.