title: Screening for MIR184 Mutations in Iranian Patients with Keratoconus.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate whether microRNA (MIR)-184 mutations make a substantial contribution to keratoconus (KCN) among affected Iranian patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 47 Iranian KCN patients, diagnosed based on family history, clinical examinations using slit lamp biomicroscopy, refraction and corneal topography were enrolled in this study. The pri-miR-184 encoding gene obtained from the DNAs of all participants was amplified using polymerase chain reaction and subsequently sequenced by the Sanger dideoxynucleotide protocol. The sequences were compared to MIR184 reference sequence in order to identify sequence variations. The potential effects of a single variation observed on RNA structure was predicted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Only one sequence variation, +39G >T, was observed within the pri-miR-184 encoding sequence in one proband. The patient's KCN-affected sister harbored the same variation. The variation was not novel and was recently shown to be present at similar frequencies among large cohorts of KCN patients and control individuals.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mutations in MIR-184 are not a major cause of keratoconus among Iranian patients. The pri-miR-184 sequence needs to be screened in larger cohorts in order to establish whether mutations in the gene are present at low frequencies among Iranian patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Azad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Farzadfard
authors.affiliation: Ophthalmic Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Nader
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nassiri
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Tayebeh Nekuie
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Moghadam
authors.affiliation: Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Damghan University, Damghan, Iran.
authors.forename: Seyed Hassan
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Paylakhi
authors.affiliation: School of Biology, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Elahe
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Elahi
keywords: Iran; Keratoconus; MIR-184