Association of the Ephreceptor Tyrosinekinase-Type A2 (EPHA2) Gene Polymorphism rs3754334 with Age-Related Cataract Risk: A Meta-Analysis

PLOS ONE, Dec 2019

Background Recent clinical studies have assessed the association of various polymorphisms on the ephreceptor tyrosinekinase-type A2 (EPHA2) with the risk for age-related cataract in populations of different ethnic/racial backgrounds, but inconsistent results have been obtained. Objective This meta-analysis aimed to identify if any polymorphism(s) might be commonly present in different ethnic/racial populations in association with the age-related cataract risk. Methods The PubMed and Web of Science databases (up to December 1, 2012) were searched for clinical studies on the association of EPHA2 polymorphisms with the risk for age-related cataract. The polymorphisms that were assessed in all eligible studies were analyzed for their association with the risk for age-related cataract using different models. Results Three studies were identified, which were conducted, respectively, on white Americans in the Unites States and on Asians in Indian and China. The polymorphism, rs3754334, was the only one studied in all these three studies and was therefore the focus of this meta-analysis. No publication bias or heterogeneity was found. Our analysis results demonstrated that rs3754334 was associated with the risk of any cataracts in the recessive (OR = 1.202, 95% CI: 1.051–1.375, P = 0.007) and Codominant (OR = 1.194, 95% CI: 1.035–1.378, P = 0.015) models, but its association with cortical or nuclear phenotype of age-related cataract was not evident. Conclusion Polymorphism, rs3754334, might be a variant on the EPHA2 gene that is commonly associated with the risk for age-related cataract in different ethnical and geographical populations.

A PDF file should load here. If you do not see its contents the file may be temporarily unavailable at the journal website or you do not have a PDF plug-in installed and enabled in your browser.

Alternatively, you can download the file locally and open with any standalone PDF reader:

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0071003&type=printable

Association of the Ephreceptor Tyrosinekinase-Type A2 (EPHA2) Gene Polymorphism rs3754334 with Age-Related Cataract Risk: A Meta-Analysis

et al. (2013) Association of the Ephreceptor Tyrosinekinase-Type A2 (EPHA2) Gene Polymorphism rs3754334 with Age-Related Cataract Risk: A Meta-Analysis. PLoS ONE 8(8): e71003. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0071003 Association of the Ephreceptor Tyrosinekinase-Type A2 (EPHA2 ) Gene Polymorphism rs3754334 with Age- Related Cataract Risk: A Meta-Analysis Jin Yang 0 Jianfeng Luo 0 Peng Zhou 0 Qi Fan 0 Yi Luo 0 Yi Lu 0 Balraj Mittal, Sanjay Gandhi Medical Institute, India 0 1 Department of Ophthalmology, Eye and ENT Hospital, Fudan University , Shanghai , China , 2 Department of Health Statistics and Social Medicine, School of Public Health, Fudan University , Shanghai , China Background: Recent clinical studies have assessed the association of various polymorphisms on the ephreceptor tyrosinekinase-type A2 (EPHA2) with the risk for age-related cataract in populations of different ethnic/racial backgrounds, but inconsistent results have been obtained. Objective: This meta-analysis aimed to identify if any polymorphism(s) might be commonly present in different ethnic/racial populations in association with the age-related cataract risk. Methods: The PubMed and Web of Science databases (up to December 1, 2012) were searched for clinical studies on the association of EPHA2 polymorphisms with the risk for age-related cataract. The polymorphisms that were assessed in all eligible studies were analyzed for their association with the risk for age-related cataract using different models. Results: Three studies were identified, which were conducted, respectively, on white Americans in the Unites States and on Asians in Indian and China. The polymorphism, rs3754334, was the only one studied in all these three studies and was therefore the focus of this meta-analysis. No publication bias or heterogeneity was found. Our analysis results demonstrated that rs3754334 was associated with the risk of any cataracts in the recessive (OR = 1.202, 95% CI: 1.051-1.375, P = 0.007) and Codominant (OR = 1.194, 95% CI: 1.035-1.378, P = 0.015) models, but its association with cortical or nuclear phenotype of age-related cataract was not evident. Conclusion: Polymorphism, rs3754334, might be a variant on the EPHA2 gene that is commonly associated with the risk for age-related cataract in different ethnical and geographical populations. - Funding: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), grants (#81270989 and #81200669), and the Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China (#20120071120089). None of the authors has any financial conflict of interest to disclose. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. . These authors contributed equally to this work. Age-related cataract, also known as senile cataract, is a condition where cloudy deposits gradually accumulate on the crystalline lens of the eye in people aged 50 years and over. Although cataracts can be removed surgically, this treatment option may not be feasibly available to a large proportion of patients in resource-limited countries or regions with inadequate surgical services and high operation costs [1]. Moreover, patient outcome following cataract surgery varies considerably with the type of the surgery performed, the performers surgical experience, and the presence of ocular comorbidities, and environmental and social conditions [2]. It is therefore not surprising that cataract remains the leading cause of vision impairment and blindness worldwide [3]. According to the latest information posted on the official website of Hellen Keller International (http://www.hki. org/working-worldwide/asia-pacific/china/) and a recent editorial article published in New England Journal of Medicine [4], cataract is responsible for at least 50% of the total (approximately 2.5 million) cases of blindness in China. As Chinas population is rapidly aging, age-related cataract is becoming an increasingly significant public health problem in the country. The development of age-related cataract is a complex process, involving multiple factors. In the past few decades, extensive research efforts have been devoted to identifying risk factors and characterizing their nature and specific roles in the pathogenesis of age-related cataract worldwide. It is anticipated that identification and characterization of the major risk factors for age-related cataract may help doctors adopt individualized preventive and treatment measures. Although a spectrum of demographic, environmental, life style-associated, disease-related and miscellaneous factors have been proposed as risk factors for cataract, no associations between cataract and these putative risk factors except for increasing age have been consistently demonstrated [2]. In 2000, Hammond et al. reported the results of their analyses (...truncated)


This is a preview of a remote PDF: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0071003&type=printable

Jin Yang, Jianfeng Luo, Peng Zhou, Qi Fan, Yi Luo, Yi Lu. Association of the Ephreceptor Tyrosinekinase-Type A2 (EPHA2) Gene Polymorphism rs3754334 with Age-Related Cataract Risk: A Meta-Analysis, PLOS ONE, 2013, Volume 8, Issue 8, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0071003