Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 4G/5G gene polymorphism and primary open-angle glaucoma.
OBJECTIVE
Alterations of the plasmin system have been suggested to participate in the multifactorial pathogenesis of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). The main physiological inhibitor of the plasmin system is plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), which leads to decreased degradation of extracellular material. Interestingly, elevated PAI-1 levels in the aqueous humor of patients with POAG have been reported. A common polymorphism within the promoter region (PAI-1 4G/5G) has previously been shown to reduce the gene transcription rate of PAI-1. The purpose of the present study was to investigate a hypothesized association between PAI-1 4G/5G and the presence of POAG in a Caucasian population.


METHODS
The present case-control study comprised 212 unrelated patients with POAG and 212 healthy control subjects, matched for age and sex. Genotyping of PAI-1 4G/5G polymorphisms was done using polymerase chain reaction.


RESULTS
Allelic frequencies and genotype distributions of PAI-1 4G/5G did not significantly differ between patients with POAG and control subjects (PAI-1 4G/5G: 29.7% versus 29.7%). Presence of the PAI-1 4G-allele was associated with a nonsignificant odds ratio of 0.98 (95% confidence interval: 0.74-1.30) for POAG.


CONCLUSIONS
Our data suggest that PAI-1 4G/5G itself is unlikely to be a major risk factor among Caucasian patients with POAG.
Mossböck
Georg
G
Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria. g.mossboeck@meduni-graz.at
Weger
Martin
M
Faschinger
Christoph
C
Schmut
Otto
O
Renner
Wilfried
W
D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D005902:Glaucoma, Open-Angle / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017395:Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1 / Q000235:genetics*; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics*
D017395:Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1