Mutations in pre-mRNA splicing factors are the second most common cause of autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa, and a major cause of vision loss. The development of gene augmentation therapy for disease caused by mutations in PRPF31 necessitates defining pretreatment characteristics and disease progression of patients with PRPF31-related retinitis pigmentosa. We show rates of decline of visual field area -6.9% per year and 30-Hz flicker cone response of -9.2% per year, which are both similar to observed rates for retinitis pigmentosa. We hypothesize that RNA splicing factor retinitis pigmentosa will be amenable to treatment by AAV-mediated gene therapy, and that understanding the clinical progression rates of PRPF31 retinitis pigmentosa will help with the design of gene therapy clinical trials.
Keywords: Inherited retinal degeneration; RNA splicing factor; retinitis pigmentosa.