title: Association of Htra1 gene polymorphisms with the risk of developing AMD in Iranian population.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Half of the cases of vision loss in people under 60 years of age have been attributed to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This is a multifactorial disease with late onset. It has been demonstrated that many different genetic loci are implicated in the risk of developing AMD in different populations. In the current study, we investigated the association of high-temperature ‎requirement A-1 (HTRA1) gene polymorphisms with the risk of developing AMD in the Iranian population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Genomic DNA samples were extracted from 120 patients with AMD and 120 healthy age- and sex-matched controls. A 385 base-pair fragment of the HTRA1 gene promoter region was amplified using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique and sequenced. The frequencies of the alleles were calculated and statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our study demonstrated that the rate of polymorphisms rs11200638 -625 G>A and rs2672598 -487T>C were significantly greater in AMD patients than in healthy controls from the Iranian population.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of our study indicate that HTRA1 gene promoter region polymorphisms are associated with the risk of developing AMD in the Iranian population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Askari
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Amin Reza
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Nikpoor
authors.affiliation: Physiology Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Fazel
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gorjipour
authors.affiliation: Biochemistry and Nutrition Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mazidi
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Hosein
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Sanati
authors.affiliation: Fazeli-Sanati Genetic Laboratory, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Hajar
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Aryan
authors.affiliation: Eye Research Center, Rassoul Akram Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Irani
authors.affiliation: Eye Research Center, Rassoul Akram Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Khalil
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ghasemi Falavarjani
authors.affiliation: Eye Research Center, Rassoul Akram Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nazari
authors.affiliation: Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Laboratory of Basic Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Kazem
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mousavizadeh
keywords: HTRA1; Iran; Macular Degeneration; Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms