Abstract
Purpose :
We previously performed a genome-wide association study of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) in Japanese subjects, identifying 11 susceptibility loci (Shiga Y et al., Hum Mol Genet. 2018). Here, we aim to clarify clinical characteristics associated with risk alleles at these genetic loci.
Methods :
This study included 471 patients with POAG who visited Tohoku University Hospital. Representative single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs) were selected from 11 POAG-related gene regions. A regression analysis was performed including clinical parameters (maximum intraocular pressure, central corneal thickness, ocular axial length, the visual field, and optical coherence tomography measurements) as objective variables and the number of copies of the risk allele in each SNP as an explanatory variable.
Results :
The presence of a POAG risk allele in the FNDC3B gene (rs7636836, T allele) was significantly associated with maximum intraocular pressure (n = 471, β = 0.12, p < 0.01). We observed this significant association after correcting for central corneal thickness (n = 440, β = 0.11, p < 0.05). Furthermore, the number of risk alleles at rs7636836 was also significantly associated with mean deviation slope, as measured with the Humphrey Field Analyzer (n = 176, β = - 0.16, p < 0.05).
Conclusions :
These results suggested that the risk variant within FNDC3B might be involved in elevation of intraocular pressure and visual field progression in Japanese POAG patients.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.