CRYAB and Leber hereditary optic neuropathy: By whole exome sequencing of members among Chinese families lacking these LHON-associated mtDNA mutations, we identified a potentially novel heterozygous mutation (c.313G>A, p. Glu105Lys) in the αB-crystallin (CRYAB) gene encoding a major lens protein belonging to the small heat-shock family of proteins and possessing antiapoptotic activities in 3 families (31–35).