title: Positive association of CD36 gene variants with the visual outcome of photodynamic therapy in polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To clarify the association between cluster of differentiation 36 (CD36) gene polymorphisms and the response to photodynamic therapy (PDT) in polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV).
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred and thirty-seven patients with PCV were enrolled. The patients were treated with PDT and followed up for more than 6 months. Retreatments were performed every 3 months as needed based on findings from angiography. Patients who showed an improvement in their best-corrected visual acuity at 6 months post-PDT were classified as PDT responders, and the others were defined as non-responders. For the 73 responders and 64 non-responders, 19 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across the CD36 region were genotyped using the TaqMan assay. We analyzed the association between these variants and the visual outcomes of PDT.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The allelic frequencies of the SNPs rs3211851, rs3173798, and rs3211908 showed nominally significant differences between the PDT responders and non-responders. Genotype association analysis revealed a significant association of SNP rs3173798 with the visual outcome of PDT in a dominant model. The presence of the C allele in rs3173798 was significantly associated with a poor response to PDT after multivariate logistic regression analysis with clinical pre-PDT parameters. The mean best-corrected visual acuity in the group with the TT genotype of rs3173798 was significantly improved over 12 months of follow-up after the initial PDT.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The coding variants in CD36 are possibly associated with the visual outcome of PDT in patients with PCV.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Division of Ophthalmology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan. sighonda@med.kobe-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Honda
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bessho
authors.forename: Naoshi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kondo
authors.forename: Sentaro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kusuhara
authors.forename: Yasutomo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tsukahara
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Negi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000483:Alleles; D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage; D018955:CD36 Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D002829:Choroid / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects; D020256:Choroidal Neovascularization / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008027:Light; D008297:Male; D010778:Photochemotherapy; D017319:Photosensitizing Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000187:drug effects / Q000528:radiation effects
chemical_list: D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors; D018955:CD36 Antigens; D017319:Photosensitizing Agents