PURPOSE:

To describe an American family with lattice corneal dystrophy type I, which associates with a novel mutation, Leu569Arg, of the TGFBI (BIGH3) gene.

DESIGN:

Experimental study.

METHODS:

Genomic DNA was extracted from buccal epithelial cells of four affected members of an American family with lattice corneal dystrophy type I. All 17 exons of the TGFBI gene were evaluated by PCR amplification and direct sequencing. Clinical and histologic data were also collected.

RESULTS:

Three generations of this family have been positively diagnosed with lattice corneal dystrophy, indicating autosomal dominant inheritance. We identified a heterozygous point mutation that associates with the disease phenotype. The single base-pair substitution (T1753G) results in an amino acid substitution (Leu569Arg) in exon 13 of the TGFBI gene.

CONCLUSIONS:

Substitution of arginine for leucine at position 569 of the TGFBI gene results in a form of lattice corneal dystrophy that is phenotypically similar to other genetically distinct forms of type I disease. This is the first report of disease correlated with changes in exon 13 of the TGFBI gene.