Association of microsatellite polymorphisms of the GPDS1 locus with normal tension glaucoma in the Japanese population

BACKGROUND: To investigate whether the GPDS1 locus, a potential causative locus of pigment-dispersion syndrome, is associated with normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) in Japanese patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used polymerase chain reaction amplification with sequence-specific primers to analyze 20 polymorphic microsatellite markers in and around the GPDS1 locus with an automated DNA analyzer and automated fragment detection by fluorescent-based technology. The DNA samples used for these analyses were obtained from ethnicity- and gender-matched patients, including 141 Japanese patients with NTG and 101 healthy controls. Patients exhibiting a comparatively early onset were selected as this suggests that genetic factors may show stronger involvement. RESULTS: One allele of D7S2462 exhibited a frequency that was significantly decreased in NTG cases compared to controls (P = 0.0013, Pc = 0.019, OR = 0.48, 95% CI = 0.30–0.75). Alleles at another six microsatellite loci were positively or negatively associated with NTG, but these associations did not retain statistical significance after Bonferroni correction (P < 0.05, Pc > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our study showed a significant association between the GPDS1 locus and NTG, suggesting that there may be some genetic risk factor(s) in the development of NTG.