Abstract
BACKGROUND: Cystinuria is known as a heritable disorder affecting the cysteine reabsorption by renal system as well as the reabsorption of dibasic amino acids. The main objectives of the present study were to identify genetic mutations in SLC7A9 gene associated with cystinuria. METHODS: A cross sectional study design was conducted. A total of 28 patients diagnosed with cystinuria were included. Molecular techniques were applied to identify genetic mutations in SLC7A9 gene. RESULTS: The mean age of study participants was 31.57 ± 2.88 years, and slightly more than two thirds of participants were males. Mutations of SLC 7A9 gene showed that the majority of cases (57.1%) were homogeneous, (7.1%) heterogeneous, and slightly more than one third of patients had no mutations. There was no statistically significant relationship between mutations for the SLC7A9 gene and gender (p = 0.249). CONCLUSION: Mutations in the SLC7A9 gene are prevalent and can be used as molecular tools to diagnose cystinuria.