Molecular screening of genetic defects with RNA-SSCP analysis: the PKU and cystinuria model.

RNA single-strand conformation polymorphism (rSSCP) is a recently developed method for detecting genetic defects. This technique requires DNA amplification with a polymerase chain reaction making use of one T7 promoter-containing primer. Amplification products are subsequently transcribed in vitro and the labelled transcripts are analysed for single-strand conformation changes. rSSCP has been applied to mutation screening of the phenylalanine hydroxylase gene and rBAT cDNA, from PKU and cystinuric patients, respectively. Experimental evidence shows that 83% and 86% of screened PKU and cystinuric mutations, respectively, give rise to detectable rSSCP signals. Thus, results obtained show that RNA single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis is generally applicable and is a suitable technique for detecting genetic disease causing mutations, both in basic research and in clinical practice.