title: Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 4G/5G gene polymorphism and primary open-angle glaucoma.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria. g.mossboeck@meduni-graz.at
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mossböck
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weger
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Faschinger
authors.forename: Otto
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Schmut
authors.forename: Wilfried
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Renner
mesh_terms: 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*
chemical_list: D017395:Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1