PRPF3

protein-coding

pre-mRNA processing factor 3, the group of U4/U6 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein

Gene summary

The removal of introns from nuclear pre-mRNAs occurs on complexes called spliceosomes, which are made up of 4 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (snRNP) particles and an undefined number of transiently associated splicing factors. This gene product is one of several proteins that associate with U4 and U6 snRNPs. Mutations in this gene are associated with retinitis pigmentosa-18. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]

Previous symbols:
  • RP18

MANE transcript

NM_004698.4

Inheritance

AD

ClinVar variants

P:13U:190B:128

Top phenotype

Retinitis pigmentosa 18

gnomAD constraint

pLI —, LoF o/e 0

Max pathogenic AF

—

Genomic locus

chr1:150,321,479-150,353,233

External References & Databases

Transcript & Mutation Effects

hg38 • Region Span ~31.8 kb
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GenCC Phenotypes & Disease Associations

Curated gene-disease validity assertions and inheritance patterns

retinitis pigmentosaSUPPORTIVE

Inheritance Pattern: AD

Disease ID:MONDO:0019200

Submitter: Orphanet

retinitis pigmentosa 18STRONG

Inheritance Pattern: AD

Disease ID:MONDO:0011075

Submitter: Labcorp Genetics (formerly Invitae)

retinitis pigmentosa 18STRONG

Inheritance Pattern: AD

Disease ID:MONDO:0011075

Submitter: PanelApp Australia

retinitis pigmentosa 18DEFINITIVE

Inheritance Pattern: AD

Disease ID:MONDO:0011075

Submitter: ClinGen

PRPF3 (Pre-mRNA Processing Factor 3, 1q21.2) encodes a protein integral to the pre-mRNA splicing process, specifically associating with U4 and U6 small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs) within the spliceosome complex. This protein plays a crucial role in the removal of introns from pre-mRNA, facilitating the accurate translation of genetic information into functional proteins. The PRPF3 gene is comprised of 16 exons and encodes a protein of 683 amino acids in length with a calculated molecular weight of 77 kDa (Chakarova CF, et al., 2002; Zhong Z, et al., 2016). PRPF3 is ubiquitously expressed across various human tissues, with a predominantly nuclear localization, reflecting its fundamental role in gene expression. Immunohistochemistry data indicate that PRPF3 is mainly localized in the nucleus across most tissues. Notably, studies in murine models have demonstrated that PRPF3 expression is particularly high in retinal cells compared to other tissues, and its expression is developmentally regulated. This elevated retinal expression suggests a critical role for PRPF3 in maintaining retinal function. Additionally, PRPF3 protein was localized to the nuclei of photoreceptor cells, interneurons and ganglion cells. Relatively higher levels were detected in ganglion and inner nuclear layers and lower levels in the outer nuclear layer where photoreceptors are localized (Chakarova CF, et al., 2002; Comitato A, et al., 2007). Pathogenic variants in PRPF3 are predominantly associated with autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (ADRP), specifically classified as retinitis pigmentosa 18 (RP18) (MIM#601414), characterized by progressive photoreceptor degeneration, leading to symptoms such as night blindness, peripheral vision loss, and, in advanced stages, central vision impairment (Chakarova CF, et al., 2002; Meng X, et al., 2017; Zhong Z, et al., 2016; Wang J, et al., 2022). Animal models (zebrafish, mouse) suggested that RP18 is not a result of haploinsufficiency but instead arises from a toxic gain-of-function caused by missense variants in PRPF3 gene (Graziotto JJ et al., 2008). Several disease-causing variants in PRPF3 have been identified in patients with ADRP (7 missense changes and 1 splice site in an in-frame exon). One of the most studied variants is the p.(Thr494Met) substitution, which has been reported in multiple families with ADRP (Chakarova CF, et al., 2002; Meng X, et al., 2017; Zhong Z, et al., 2016; Wang J, et al., 2022). This variant is in exon 11 of PRPF3 and is associated with variable phenotypic expressivity, even among individuals carrying the same variant. Data for this variant suggest that mutant PRPF3 causes mislocalization of splicing factors and forms aggregates that can be detrimental to the photoreceptor cell (Meng X, et al., 2017). Missense PRPF3 variants identified in adRP families are clustered at the highly conserved C-terminal domain for binding to U4/U6 snRNA and splicing factors. The recurrent variant p.(Thr494Met) substantially reduces the phosphorylation of PRPF3 C-terminal region by casein kinase II, thereby suppressing its association with itself, Hprp4p, and U4/U6 snRNA, so all variants in c-terminal exon to 0.5 were upscored, as this appears to be critical region in pathogenicity of disease (Gonzalez-Santos JM et al., 2008; Yang C et al., 2021). Interestingly there was one splice site variant, but it seems this is affecting an in-frame exon (exon 10) and thus skipping of this exon will retain the frame and this variant is not considered as a null variant (this exon is 7% of the total protein) (Wang J et al. et al., 2022). In this curation, data from 7 individuals were collected (Chakarova CF, et al., 2002; Meng X, et al., 2017; Zhong Z, et al., 2016; Wang J, et al., 2022). Supporting segregation evidence was collected from 3 families with the recurrent p.(Thr494Met) variant. Additionally, experimental evidence for expression, biochemical function, animal modelling and function alteration was reviewed (Chakarova CF, et al., 2002; Comitato A, et al., 2007; Farkas MH, et al., 2014). In summary, PRPF3 is definitively associated with PRPF8-related retinopathy. The association with retinopathy has been repeatedly demonstrated in both the research and clinical diagnostic settings and has been upheld over time. The suggested name of the condition is PRPF3-related retinopathy. This classification was approved by the ClinGen Retinal Gene Curation Expert Panel on March 3rd, 2022 (SOP Version 8).

retinitis pigmentosa 18DEFINITIVE

Inheritance Pattern: AD

Disease ID:MONDO:0011075

Submitter: G2P

retinitis pigmentosa 18MODERATE

Inheritance Pattern: AD

Disease ID:MONDO:0011075

Submitter: Ambry Genetics

Clinical Genomic Database (CGD)

Retinitis pigmentosa 18AD

Manifestation: Ophthalmologic

Intervention: General

Rationale: Genetic knowledge may be beneficial related to issues such as selection of optimal supportive care, informed medical decision-making, prognostic considerations, and avoidance of unnecessary testing

Refs: 11773002Source: CGD (NHGRI)

ClinVar Associated Diseases & Phenotypes

Reported disease conditions connected to PRPF3 variants in ClinVar

7 Conditions Cataloged
not providedTotal: 369
not specifiedTotal: 72
PRPF3-related disorderTotal: 38
Inborn genetic diseasesTotal: 34
Retinitis pigmentosaTotal: 26
Retinal dystrophyTotal: 21
Retinitis pigmentosa 18Total: 12

ClinVar Variants & Pathogenicity by Type

Statistics based on transcript NM_004698.4. Only rare variants are included.

We include only reliable ClinVar variants with their consequences to MANE Select, MANE Plus Clinical transcripts, or transcripts with TSL equal to 1. Click a count to filter the variants table below.

Slight differences between displayed counts and ClinVar may occur due to a different transcript/consequence chosen by our variant effect predictor, or because we classify Benign/Likely benign as Likely benign and Pathogenic/Likely pathogenic as Likely pathogenic.

EffectPLPVUSLBBSum
synonymous
9
clinvar
112
clinvar
2
clinvar
123
missense
5
clinvar
3
clinvar
172
clinvar
14
clinvar
194
nonsense
2
clinvar
2
start loss
0
frameshift
1
clinvar
1
clinvar
2
splice donor/acceptor (+/-2bp)
1
clinvar
3
clinvar
6
clinvar
10
Total761901262331

Highest pathogenic variant AF is 6.863512e-7

Loading ClinVar variants...

Transcript Catalog

Annotated transcript isoforms across RefSeq and Ensembl databases

Showing 4 of 42 transcripts
Transcript IDSourceProtein IDCoding ExonsMANE Status
NM_004698.4RefSeqNP_004689.115MANE Select
ENST00000324862.7EnsemblENSP00000315379.615MANE Select
NM_001350529.1RefSeqNP_001337458.113Standard
ENST00000907625.1EnsemblENSP00000577684.114Standard

Model Organisms & Knockout Phenotypes

Observed phenotypic effects in mouse and zebrafish models

Gene / ModelOrganismObserved Phenotype
prpf3Danio rerio

Structure: anatomical system

Quality: quality

abnormal

Gene Ontology (GO) Annotations & Pathways

Biological processes, molecular functions, cellular components and pathways

Pathways ConsensusPathDB

  • Spliceosome - Homo sapiens (human)
  • mRNA Processing
  • Metabolism of RNA
  • mRNA Splicing - Major Pathway
  • mRNA Splicing

Biological Process

  • spliceosomal tri-snRNP complex assembly
  • RNA splicing, via transesterification reactions
  • mRNA splicing, via spliceosome
  • mRNA processing
  • RNA splicing

Molecular Function

  • RNA binding
  • protein binding
  • identical protein binding

Cellular Component

  • nucleus
  • nucleoplasm
  • spliceosomal complex
  • cytosol
  • Cajal body

gnomAD Constraint

Source: gnomAD

Gene type
protein_coding
Transcript type
protein_coding
Transcript
ENST00000324862
Coding exons
15
Length
31747
Individuals with no LoFs
125676
Homozygous LoFs
0
Heterozygous LoFs
1
Defined
125677
p
0.00000398
Z-ScoreObservedExpectedObserved/ExpectedMutation RateTotal Possible
Missense3.851603680.4350.00002034477
Missense (PolyPhen)30112.350.267031376
Synonymous0.5731221300.9360.000006671330
Loss of Function6.12043.60.000.00000324431

Population LoF Frequency

PopulationCAFp-valueStatus
African00.0absent
Latino/Admixed American00.0absent
Ashkenazi Jewish00.0absent
East Asian00.0absent
Finnish00.0absent
European (Non-Finnish)00.0absent
South Asian00.0absent
Other0.000160.00016rare

dbNSFP Gene Annotations

Source: dbNSFP

Function
FUNCTION: Plays role in pre-mRNA splicing as component of the U4/U6-U5 tri-snRNP complex that is involved in spliceosome assembly, and as component of the precatalytic spliceosome (spliceosome B complex). {ECO:0000269|PubMed:26912367, ECO:0000269|PubMed:28781166, ECO:0000305|PubMed:20595234}.;
Disease
DISEASE: Retinitis pigmentosa 18 (RP18) [MIM:601414]: A retinal dystrophy belonging to the group of pigmentary retinopathies. Retinitis pigmentosa is characterized by retinal pigment deposits visible on fundus examination and primary loss of rod photoreceptor cells followed by secondary loss of cone photoreceptors. Patients typically have night vision blindness and loss of midperipheral visual field. As their condition progresses, they lose their far peripheral visual field and eventually central vision as well. {ECO:0000269|PubMed:11773002, ECO:0000269|PubMed:12714658, ECO:0000269|PubMed:17932117}. Note=The disease is caused by mutations affecting the gene represented in this entry.;

Recessive Scores

pRec
0.168

Intolerance Scores

LoFtool
0.0311
RVIS EVS
-0.56
RVIS percentile EVS
19.31

Essentials

Essential (CRISPR)
E
Essential (CRISPR2)
E
Essential (gene trap)
E
Indispensability pred.
E
Indispensability score
0.976

Gene Damage Prediction

AllRecessiveDominant
MendelianMediumMediumMedium
Primary ImmunodeficiencyMediumMediumMedium
CancerMediumMediumMedium
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