A study of deafness-related genetic mutations as a basis for strategies to prevent hereditary hearing loss in Hebei, China

Abstract

Hearing loss is the most common sensory disorder, and at least 50% of cases are due to a genetic etiology. Two-thirds of individuals with congenital deafness are nonsyndromic. Among the nonsyndromic forms, the large majority are monogenic autosomal recessive traits. The current work summarizes mutations in the GJB2, SLC26A4, 12SrRNA, and GJB3 and their prevalence in 318 students with autosomal recessive nonsyndromic hearing loss at schools for the deaf or special needs schools in 9 cities in Hebei Province, China. Deafness gene mutations were identified in 137 students via a gene chip, time-of-flight mass spectrometry, fluorescence quantitative PCR, and gene sequencing. Mutations were detected at a rate of 43.08%. A homozygous mutation of the GJB2 gene was found in 16 students (5.03%), a heterozygous mutation of that gene was found in 38 (11.95%), a homozygous mutation of the SLC26A4 gene was found in 22 (6.92%), a heterozygous mutation of that gene was found in 59 (18.55%), and a heterozygous mutation of the mitochondrial 12SrRNA gene was found in 2 (0.63%). In addition, there were 15 families in which a student's parents had normal hearing. Compound heterozygous mutations of the GJB2 gene were found in 3 families (20%) and mutations of the SLC26A4 gene were found in 9 (60%). Thus, this study has provided a molecular diagnostic basis for the causes of deafness, and this study has also provided a scientific basis for the early prevention of and intervention in deafness.

Mutation analysis of common deafness genes among 1,201 patients with non‐syndromic hearing loss in Shanxi Province

“…Fifteen patients were found to carry the c.1555A>G homoplasmic mutation in this study, accounting for 1.25% (15/1,201). The frequency of mtDNA 12S rRNA mutations found in the present study was lower than either that reported by Guo et al (2008) in northern Chinese subjects or that reported in the northwest of China (Ma et al, 2016;Zhu et al, 2015). This result may be related to the fact that a majority of our patients had congenital and prelingual deafness.…”

Mutation analysis of the <i>SLC26A4</i> gene in three Chinese families

“…In addition, the SLC26A4 gene is known to be closely associated with delayed-onset hearing loss and is often detected in deaf populations. Zhu et al reported that the rate of homozygous and heterozygous mutations in the SLC26A4 gene was 6.92% (22/318) and 18.55% (59/318), respectively, in 318 students with NSHL in Hebei Province, China (15). Later, the current authors' research group examined patients with a single-allele SLC26A4 mutation revealed by newborn genetic screening for deafness.…”