Abstract
Purpose :
To determine the associations of the placental growth factor (PGF) gene with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV).
Methods :
Five single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in PGF were genotyped in over 1,600 unrelated Chinese participants, including a Hong Kong cohort of over 200 nAMD patients, 230 PCV patients and 350 controls, and an independent Shantou cohort of over 180 nAMD patients, 180 PCV patients and 500 controls, using TaqMan genotyping assays.
Results :
Two PGF SNPs (SNP1, P<0.005; odds ratio [OR]>1.5; and SNP2, P<0.05; OR>1.4) were associated with nAMD. A significant omnibus haplotype association with nAMD was detected for a two-SNP window containing these two SNPs, with a haplotype G-G conferring an over 1.5-fold increased risk (P<0.005) in the Hong Kong cohort and over 1.4-fold risk (P<0.05) in the Shantou cohort. Pooling of the Hong Kong and Shantou data enhanced the association of nAMD with SNP1, SNP2 and G-G haplotype. In contrast, the PGF SNPs and haplotype were not associated with PCV.
Conclusions :
Results of this study suggest that PGF is a susceptibility gene for nAMD in Chinese, providing new evidence to support a biological role of PGF in choroidal neovascularization.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.