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Purpose: To examine the associations of the earlier reported glaucoma-related genes to the regional circumpapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thicknesses (cpRNFLTs) and corresponding visual field defects., Methods: We studied 756 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and 3094 normal controls. Each participant was genotyped for nine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of four glaucoma-susceptible genes: the CDKN2B(AS1), TMCO1, CAV1/CAV2, and SIX1/SIX6 genes. For the SNPs that were significantly associated with the POAG case-control analyses, the associations of SNP genotypes with the cpRNFLTs of 12 sectors were also analyzed, and then finer assessments were performed using 768 points of the cpRNFLT and corresponding visual field defect sensitivities using case-only subjects., Results: We confirmed that there was a significant association of the CDKN2B(AS1) gene to POAG. For the suggested region-specific associations of these genes with the 12-sectored cpRNFLT, a 768-point cpRNFLT examination showed that rs4977756 near CDKN2B had significant signal peaks in the temporal region at 330° to 360° and 0° to 30° (maximum β = 2.92, P = 2.9 × 10-5 at 351.1° and maximum β = 3.97, P = 2.2 × 10-4 at 23.4°, respectively). These region-specific signals were validated by the corresponding visual field defect patterns of the paracentral/lower hemifield (P < 0.05)., Conclusions: Genetic association analyses using the cpRNFLT with 768 points suggest that the CDKN2B gene was associated with paracentral/lower hemifield scotomas. Our regional association analyses on cpRNFLT allow detailed characterization of glaucoma-related genes and should be a new target for genomic studies for glaucoma endophenotypes.

Purpose: We investigated the association of genetic variations, which were identified recently in a large-scale genome-wide association study (GWAS) to confer risk of refractive error and common myopia in Caucasians, with high myopia in Japanese subjects., Methods: The 5 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from the 5 genes TOX, RDH5, ZIC2, RASGRF1, and SHISA6, were genotyped in 1339 unrelated highly myopic Japanese patients and 3248 healthy Japanese participants in the Nagahama Study. In addition, genotypes were compared between high myopia patients without choroidal neovascularization (CNV) and patients with myopic CNV., Results: Significant associations between rs8000973 near ZIC2 (P = 7.16 × 10(-7)), rs4778879 in RASGRF1 (P = 3.40 × 10(-7)), and rs2969180 in SHISA6 (P = 0.033) and high myopia were observed. Odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) were 1.33 (1.19-1.49), 0.78 (0.71-0.86), and 1.11 (1.01-1.22) for the rs8000973 C allele, rs4778879 A allele, and rs2969180 G allele, respectively. The effect of the rs2969180 allele G contrasted with that observed in the original report, whereas the effect of the other 2 SNPs agreed. Further analysis using controls with -1.0 diopter (D) ≤ spherical equivalent ≤ +1.0 D showed a significant association between ZIC2 and RASGRF1, but not SHISA6. Among the patients with high myopia, 516 had myopic CNV in either eye, while 823 patients did not have myopic CNV in eyes. No evaluated genes showed a significant association with the development of myopic CNV., Conclusions: ZIC2 and RASGRF1 are susceptibility genes, not only for common myopia, but also for high myopia.

Purpose: To determine whether genetic variants in the complement component 2 and factor B gene (C2/CFB) locus are associated with the risk for typical age-related macular degeneration (AMD) or polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) in a Japanese population., Methods: Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped across the C2/CFB locus of patients with typical AMD (n = 455) or PCV (n = 581) and of 865 controls. Differences in the observed genotypic distribution between the case and control groups were tested by logistic regression analysis for age and sex adjustments. Significant associations were confirmed using a second control group of 336 cataract patients. A further model adjusting for age-related maculopathy susceptibility 2 (ARMS2) A69S, complement factor H (CFH) I62V, age, sex and smoking status was performed, to confirm their independent association from other covariates., Results: C2 rs547154 and CFB rs541862 were significantly associated with typical AMD and PCV in this Japanese sample (P < 0.05). These two SNPs were also significantly associated with typical AMD and PCV in evaluation of the second control cohort (P < 0.05). Furthermore, an independent association of C2/CFB variants was found for both typical AMD and PCV with age, sex, smoking, and genetic background of ARMS2 A69S and CFH I62V (vs. typical AMD: P = 0.0073, odds ratio [OR] = 0.47; vs. PCV: P = 0.0083, OR = 0.53)., Conclusions: C2/CFB variants play a protective role in the risk of developing neovascular AMD and PCV in the Japanese.

Purpose: To investigate whether the major genetic and environmental risk factors of age-related macular degeneration (AMD)-CFH Y402H and LOC387715 A69S and cigarette smoking-are also associated with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) and whether the associations of CFH Y402H and LOC387715 A69S with PCV are modified by smoking., Methods: Three hundred seventy-five Japanese patients with PCV and 847 Japanese who served as population-based control subjects, all ≥55 years of age, were studied. CFH Y402H (rs1061170) and LOC387715 A69S (rs10490924) were genotyped with a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) assay. An unconditional logistic regression model was used to analyze the association between age, sex, smoking status, CFH Y402H, LOC387715 A69S, and PCV. The synergy index (SI) was measured to assess gene-smoking and gene-gene interaction as a departure from additivity., Results: CFH Y402H, LOC3387715 A69S, and cigarette smoking status were all significantly associated with PCV; for CFH Y402H, the adjusted odds ratio (OR) for the number of copies of the allele was 1.63 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.12-2.36; P < 0.05); for LOC387715 A69S, the adjusted OR was 2.26 (95% CI, 1.83-2.78; P < 0.0001); and for smoking status (ever versus never smoked), the adjusted OR was 1.45 (95% CI, 1.00-2.10; P < 0.05). The joint effect of CFH Y402H and smoking was significantly greater than the additive scale, with an SI of 2.41 (95% CI, 1.14-5.10)., Conclusions: CFH Y402H and LOC387715 A69S are both significantly associated with PCV. Cigarette smoking is an environmental risk factor for PCV. The findings suggest interactions between CFH 402H and cigarette smoking in PCV.

Purpose: To seek an association in Japanese individuals between the CFH polymorphisms Y402H and I62V and the ARMS2 polymorphism A69S and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) or its three subtypes: typical (t)AMD, polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV), and retinal angiomatous proliferation (RAP)., Methods: The three polymorphisms were genotyped in a case-control study of 1351 control subjects and 962 patients with AMD., Results: The three polymorphisms correlated with AMD (Y402H, P = 1.54 × 10(-6); I62V, P =1.94 × 10(-29); and A69S, P = 9.56 × 10(-43)). The I62V and A69S polymorphisms were associated with all three subtypes: tAMD (P = 3.74 × 10(-18) and 1.37 × 10(-35), respectively), PCV (P = 3.18 × 10(-19) and 3.96 × 10(-18), respectively), and RAP (P = 0.034 and 2.49 × 10(-18), respectively). Y402H was associated with tAMD (P = 3.00 × 10(-5)) and with PCV (P = 9.73 × 10(-5)), but no association was found with RAP, possibly because of the small sample size and the rare minor allele. The risk allele contribution of A69S was stronger for RAP than for tAMD or PCV and was stronger for tAMD than for PCV., Conclusions: CFH Y402H is associated with AMD, tAMD, and PCV, whereas I62V is associated with all three subtypes. ARMS2 A69S has a strong association with all three subtypes, with the association being strongest for RAP and weakest for PCV. PCV and RAP may thus be subtypes of AMD that are genetically distinct from tAMD.

Purpose: The collagen type I alpha 1 (COL1A1) gene was recently reported to be associated with high myopia in the Japanese population. To validate this positive association, the tag single-nucleotide polymorphism (tSNP) approach was used., Methods: Eight tSNPs, including rs2075555 and rs2269336 (previously reported to be high myopia-susceptible SNPs in the Japanese), were selected to tag the linkage disequilibrium blocks harboring the COL1A1. These tSNPs were genotyped by using an SNP assay. A total of 427 unrelated Japanese cases with high myopia (axial length, >or=26.50 mm in both eyes; the refraction of the 644 phakic eyes ranged from -5.0 to -36.0 D, with a mean +/- SD of -13.61+/-4.20 D) and 420 Japanese control subjects were recruited. Genotype and allele distributions were compared between the cases and controls by using the chi(2) test, with multiple testing corrections performed by the permutation test., Results: There was no association noted between high myopia and rs2075555 (P=0.47, P(c)>0.99) and rs2269336 (P=0.40, P(c)>0.99). Meta-analysis of a previous Japanese study and new data obtained in a fixed-effect model indicated a mild significant association of high myopia with rs2075555 (odds ratio [OR], 1.19; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03-1.38, P=0.022) and rs2269336 (OR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.02-1.36, P=0.026). No significant associations were seen with further tSNPs tests., Conclusions: This study did not replicate the previously reported positive association between COL1A1 and high myopia in the Japanese population, and thus the genetic risk associated with this gene, if any, is weaker than originally reported.