Perspective Genetic and developmental basis of renal coloboma (papillorenal) syndrome Expert Rev. Ophthalmol. 4(2), 135–xxx (2009) Lisa A Schimmenti Renal coloboma syndrome, also known as papillorenal syndrome, is characterized by optic Department of Pediatrics and nerve anomalies and kidney hypodysplasia. Autosomal dominant mutations in the gene Ophthalmology, University of encoding the paired box transcription factor PAX2 can be identified in nearly half of all Minnesota Medical School, 420 patients with this phenotype. The primary ophthalmologic findings include congenital central Delaware Street Southeast, retinal vasculature absence associated with abnormalities in retinal blood vessel patterning MMC 730, Minnesota, and deeply excavated optic discs. Other published findings include optic nerve hypoplasia, MN 55455, USA optic nerve cyst, optic nerve pits, retinal coloboma, microphthalmia and scleral staphyloma. Tel.: +1 612 624 5613 Visual acuity ranges from normal to severe impairment. Up to one third of affected patients Fax: +1 612 626 2993 will develop end-stage renal disease. Mouse and zebrafish withPax2/pax2a mutations provide
[email protected] developmentally based explanations for the observed phenotypic observations in affected patients. KEYWORDS: optic nerve coloboma • optic nerve dysplasia • papillorenal syndrome • PAX2 • renal coloboma syndrome The clinical presentation of optic nerve anomalies total of 10 years later, Weaver et al. reported a case associated with renal hypodysplasia should alert the of two brothers, both with optic nerve colobomas, clinician to the possibility that a patient may have interstitial nephritis and renal failure [3]. Weaver renal coloboma syndrome, a condition also known noted the similarity of the optic nerve colobomas as papillorenal syndrome (OMIM#120330). The in his patients with the ‘morning glory anomaly’, optic nerve findings could be described as a ‘dys- previously reported by Karcher et al.