Association of known common genetic variants with primary open angle, primary angle closure, and pseudoexfoliation glaucoma in Pakistani cohorts

PURPOSE: Despite the different etiology of primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG), and pseudoexfoliative glaucoma (PEXG), several studies have suggested that these forms of glaucoma have overlapping genetic risk factors. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the role of genetic variants recently associated with POAG in different types of glaucoma in Pakistani POAG, PACG, and PEXG patient cohorts. METHODS: Six variants in CDKN2B-AS1 (rs4977756), CDKN2B (rs1063192), ATOH7 (rs1900004), CAV1 (rs4236601), TMCO1 (rs4656461), and SIX1 (rs10483727) were genotyped using TaqMan assays. A total of 513 unrelated patients with glaucoma (268 with POAG, 125 with PACG, and 120 with PEXG) and 233 healthy controls were included in the study. Genotypic and allelic associations were analyzed with a chi-square test. RESULTS: The frequency of the G allele of TMCO1 rs4656461 was significantly lower in the patients with POAG (p=0.003; OR [odds ratio]=0.57), PACG (p=0.009; OR=0.52), and PEXG (p=0.01; OR=0.54) compared to the control individuals. The T allele of ATOH7 rs1900004 was observed less frequently in the patients with PACG (p=0.03; OR=0.69) compared to the control individuals. The A allele of CAV1 rs4236601 was found more frequently in the patients with POAG (p=0.008; OR=1.49) compared to the control individuals. This study demonstrates that the TMCO1 rs4656461 variant is associated with POAG, PACG and PEXG in the Pakistani population. Our study was unable to confirm previous associations reported for variants in CDKN2B-AS1, CDKN2B, and SIX1 with any type of glaucoma. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, we found consistent evidence of the significant association of three common variants in TMCO1, ATOH7, and CAV1.