Abstract
Purpose: :
To investigate a potential association between vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene polymorphisms and the size of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in highly myopic eyes.
Methods: :
Eighty-three unrelated highly myopic Japanese patients with axial lengths > 26.00 mm in both eyes who have myopic CNV in at least one eye were enrolled. Seventeen patients were men and 66 were women. Patients underwent angiography and the area of CNV was measured with HRA2. In the cases with myopic CNV in both eyes, the data of right eye was evaluated. Genomic DNAs were prepared from peripheral blood using a DNA extraction kit. We genotyped 4 tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; rs699946, rs699947, rs3025033, and rs3025035) across the VEGF gene and 4 functional SNPs (rs1570360, rs2010963, rs833061, and rs3025039) previously reported to be correlated with VEGF gene expression using a Taqman SNP assay with the ABI PRISM 7700 system. The associations between CNV size and VEGF gene polymorphisms were evaluated with Jonckheere-Terpstra trend test. To confirm the association between CNV size and VEGF gene polymorphism, the associated SNP was genotyped in 76 additional eyes with myopic CNV.
Results: :
The average age and axial length were 70.0 ± 6.3 years and 28.97 ± 1.72 mm. Of the 8 SNPs evaluated, genotype distribution of rs2010963 was significantly correlated with the CNV area (P = 0.0047). The size of CNV was largest (1.71 ± 1.29) in patients with a CC genotype of rs2010963, intermediate (0.98 ± 0.84) with a CG genotype, and smallest (0.78 ± 0.78) with a GG genotype. There was no significant difference in axial length, age of patients, or male/female ratio among the 3 genotypes of rs2010963 (P = 0.54, 0.98, and 0.69, respectively). This association was successfully replicated in the additional 76 eyes with myopic CNV, and pooled analysis revealed significant association of rs2010963 with CNV size (P = 0.00078).
Conclusions: :
The present study suggests that VEGF plays a role in the growth of CNV in highly myopic eyes.
Keywords: myopia • genetics • vascular endothelial growth factor