Abstract
Purpose::
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an important regulator of angiogenesis and a target for inhibition therapy in wet aging macula disorder (AMD). We examined whether genetic variations in the VEGF gene is associated with AMD and especially with its wet end stage.
Methods::
In a prospective population-based cohort study among men and women aged 55 years and over, AMD was classified according to the modified International Classification System on fundus color transparencies. We determined genotypes and haplotypes for three functional VEGF single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs): C-2578A, G-1154A, and C-634G. Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were used to investigate the possible association between the individual SNPs and incident AMD, and to test associations of VEGF gene haplotypes and incident AMD, we used the program Haplo Stats.
Results::
In 4228 participants at risk for early or late AMD, of whom blood specimens were available for VEGF genotyping, 514 developed early AMD and 89 late AMD (35 dry and 54 wet) after a mean follow-up of 7.4 years. None of the SNPs showed a significant association with any incident and especially not with wet late AMD nor was any association found in the haplotype analyses.
Conclusions::
Our a priori hypothesis that three common SNPs in the VEGF gene would be a risk factor for especially wet AMD could not be confirmed.
Keywords: age-related macular degeneration • genetics • neovascularization