title: The association of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) gene with primary angle closure glaucoma in the Nepalese population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Genetic variation in the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) gene has recently been associated with hyperopia, which is a known risk factor for primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG). This study aimed to investigate whether genetic variation in HGF is associated with primary angle closure glaucoma in the Nepalese population.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred six Nepalese patients with primary angle closure glaucoma and 204 matched controls were recruited. Twelve tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were selected and genotyped to cover the majority of common variation within HGF. Genotype and haplotype analyses were conducted in PLINK.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Four HGF SNPs were found to be significantly associated with PACG, rs5745718, rs12536657, rs12540393 and rs17427817 (p=0.002, 0.002, 0.0006, and 0.0006, respectively). In addition, haplotype analysis showed one common haplotype to be significantly associated with PACG (p=0.001) in this population.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Genetic variation in HGF is associated with PACG in the Nepalese population. Additional replication studies in other populations are necessary to confirm this association and to further explore the role of HGF in the pathogenesis of this blinding disease.
authors: Department of Ophthalmology, Flinders University, Flinders Medical Centre Adelaide, South Australia. awad0002@flinders.edu.au
authors: Mona S
authors: MS
authors: Awadalla
authors: Suman S
authors: SS
authors: Thapa
authors: Kathryn P
authors: KP
authors: Burdon
authors: Alex W
authors: AW
authors: Hewitt
authors: Jamie E
authors: JE
authors: Craig
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D005838:Genotype; D060005:Genotyping Techniques; D015812:Glaucoma, Angle-Closure / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics*; D006239:Haplotypes; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009390:Nepal / Q000453:epidemiology; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
chemical_list: D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor