Publications by authors named "A Hardcastle"

Importance: Understanding the pathogenic mechanisms of Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD) could contribute to developing gene-targeted therapies.

Objective: To investigate associations between demographic data and age at first keratoplasty in a genetically refined FECD cohort.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This retrospective cohort study recruited 894 individuals with FECD at Moorfields Eye Hospital (London) and General University Hospital (Prague) from September 2009 to July 2023.

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Inherited retinal dystrophies (IRDs) are characterized by their high clinical and genetic heterogeneity. Despite significant advances in the identification of genes associated with IRDs, many individuals and families still have not received a definite molecular diagnosis. Here, we performed clinical examinations and conducted genetic testing in five families with IRD.

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In two unrelated families with X-linked inherited retinal dystrophy, identification of the causative variants was elusive. Interrogation of the next-generation sequencing (NGS) data revealed a "dark" intergenic region on Xq27.1 with poor coverage.

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The U4 small nuclear RNA (snRNA) forms a duplex with the U6 snRNA and, together with U5 and ~30 proteins, is part of the U4/U6.U5 tri-snRNP complex, located at the core of the major spliceosome. Recently, recurrent variants in the U4 RNA, transcribed from the gene, and in at least two other genes were discovered to cause neurodevelopmental disorder.

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Introduction: Autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa type 17 (adRP, type RP17) is caused by complex structural variants (SVs) affecting a locus on chromosome 17 (chr17q22). The SVs disrupt the 3D regulatory landscape by altering the topologically associating domain (TAD) structure of the locus, creating novel TAD structures (neo-TADs) and ectopic enhancer-gene contacts. Currently, screening for RP17-associated SVs is not included in routine diagnostics given the complexity of the variants and a lack of cost-effective detection methods.

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