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Cystinuria is an autosomal recessive defect in reabsorptive transport of cystine and the dibasic amino acids ornithine, arginine, and lysine from renal tubule and small intestine. Mutations in two genes: SLC3A1, encoding the heavy chain rbAT of the renal cystine transport system and SLC7A9, the gene of its light chain b0, + AT have a crucial role in the diseases. In our previous studies from Iranian populations with Cystinuria totally six and eleven novel mutations respectively identified in SLC3A1 and SLC7A9 genes. In this study, we conducted an in silico functional analysis to explore the possible association between these genetic mutations and Cystinuria. MutationTaster, PolyPhen-2, PANTHER, FATHMM. PhDSNP and MutPred was applied to predict the degree of pathogenicity for the missense mutations. Furthermore, Residue Interaction Network (RIN) and Intron variant analyses was performed using Cytoscape and Human Slicing Finder softwares. These genetic variants can provide a better understanding of genotype-phenotype relationships in patients with Cystinuria. In the future, the findings may also facilitate the development of new molecular diagnostic markers for the diseases.

Cystinuria is an inherited disease characterized by the formation of cystine calculi in the kidneys, ureters, and bladder. Cystinuria is associated with mutation in the SLC3A1 and SLC7A9 genes. These defects prevent appropriate reabsorption of dibasic amino acids lysine, ornithine, and arginine. Cystinuria is classified as type I (silent heterozygotes) and non-type I (heterozygotes with urinary hyperexcretion of cystine). In molecular term, cystinuria is classified as type A (mutations on SLC3A1 gene) and type B (mutations on SLC7A9 gene). This report describes 7 patients with early onset of cystine calculus formation. We are report a new mutation in SLC3A1 gene in exon 1. A novel nucleotide substitution c.-29AG was found in exon 1 of the SLC3A1 gene, which had not been reported elsewhere previously.

Cystinuria is an autosomal inherited disorder of renal reabsorption of cystine, arginine, lysine, and ornithine. Increased urinary excretion of cystine results in the formation of kidney stones. Considering the few studies on the genetic basis of the cystinuria in the Middle East and the population-specific distribution of mutations in the SLC3A1 and SLC7A9 genes, in the present study, mutation analysis of these two genes was performed in a cohort of Iranian patients with cystinuria. Thirty unrelated cystinuria patients were analyzed for four of the most common mutations using ARMS-PCR (M467T, T216M) and RFLP-PCR (G105R, R333W) methods. For negative sample, two exons of both genes, which harbor many mutations, were subject to DNA sequencing. Eight variants were identified including missense, polymorphism, intron variant, and a novel variant. The most frequent mutations were not detected in our patients and only G105R was found. Since the molecular genetic testing results may influence the therapy and prognosis of cystinuria, this paper contributes to understanding of the molecular basis of cystinuria in the Iranian patients.

Cystinuria, one of the first inborn errors of metabolism, is characterized by hyperexcretion of cystine, arginine, lysine, and ornithine into urine. Cystinuria is genetically classified into types A and B. Mutations in the SLC3A1 gene lead to type A, and type B is caused by mutations in the SLC7A9 gene. We described a 19-year-old woman that had early onset of cystine calculus formation at the age of 3 years. After DNA extraction and polymerase chain reaction, direct sequencing was performed. By these methods, a novel nucleotide substitution c.177GA in exon 3 of the SLC7A9 gene was found, which had not been reported elsewhere previously. This nucleotide substitution occurs in the extracellular domain of the SLC7A9 gene. In addition, a previously described intron variant c.1136+2/3delT (intron 6 of SLC3A1) in homozygosity status was detected in the patient. To our knowledge, this is the first report of novel nucleotide substitution c.177GA in exon 3 of the SLC7A9 gene.