Abstract
Purpose:
Linkage has earlier been shown to the oxidative stress, vascular endothelial growth factor 2 (VEGF2) gene, complementary factor H (CFH) and age related macular degeneration (AMD). We therefore, wanted to determine the levels of super oxide dismutase (SOD) activity, polymorphism in CFH and VEGFR2 genes and their serum levels in AMD patients in comparison to control subjects.
Methods:
176 subjects were enrolled in a case-control genetic study. The SOD activity was analyzed using commercially available superoxide dismutase assay kit. Real-Time PCR was used to analyze the SNPs (rs1061170, rs1531289 and rs2305948) of CFH and VEGFR-2 genes. ELISA was conducted to determine the levels of CFH and VEGFR2. A non-parametric Mann-Whitney-U test was applied for comparison of the ELISA levels and Pearson’s Chi-square test was applied to study the association of polymorphism between various groups.
Results:
AG genotype (rs1531289) in VEGFR2 and TT (rs1061170) genotype in CFH were significantly associated with AMD (OR= 2.13, p=0.047 and OR=16.5, p=0.0001 respectively). VEGFR2 levels were found to be increased significantly and CFH levels were found to be decreased in AMD patients as compared to controls. VEGFR2 levels were found to significant increased among wet AMD as compared to dry AMD. We did not find any significant difference in SOD activity between AMD and normal controls.
Conclusions:
The increased levels of VEGFR2 and decreased levels of CFH with polymorphism in our population may be associated with AMD suggesting the role of VEGFR-2 and CFH in pathogenesis of AMD.
Keywords: 412 age-related macular degeneration •
688 retina •
701 retinal pigment epithelium