Identification of Novel Copy Number Variations of VCAN Gene in Three Chinese Families with Wagner Disease

Abstract

The VCAN/versican gene encodes an important component of the extracellular matrix, the chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan 2 (CSPG2/versican). Heterozygous variants targeting exon 8 of VCAN have been shown to cause Wagner disease, a rare autosomal dominant non-syndromic vitreoretinopathy that induces retinal detachment, cataracts and permanent visual loss. In this study, we report on six patients from three unrelated families with Wagner disease in whom we identified three novel copy number variations of VCAN. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis identified deletions, including one exon–intron boundary of exon 8 or both exons 8 and 9, causing the haploinsufficiency of VCAN mRNAs.