[A study on the association of apolipoprotein E genotypes with primary open-angle glaucoma and primary angle-closure glaucoma in northeast of China].

Objective: To analysis the association of apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG) in northeast of China.
Method: The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) technique were used to detect the distribution of genotype and gene frequency of APOE alleles in 36 patients with POAG, 69 with PACG and 57 healthy subjects as control.
Results: The frequency of APOE epsilon 3/epsilon 4 genotype in POAG group (41.7%)and epsilon 2/epsilon 4 in PACG group (43.5%) was significantly (P < 0.05) higher than that in control group (14.0% and 21.1%, respectively). The frequency of APOE epsilon 4 allele in both of POAG (37.5%) and PACG group (39.2%) was significantly (P < 0.05) higher than that in control group (17.5%), whereas the frequency of APOE epsilon 2 allele in POAG group (8.3%) was significantly (P < 0.05) lower than that in control group (15.8%).
Conclusion: APOE epsilon 4 allele may be a latent risk factor in the development of primary glaucoma, but APOE epsilon 2 allele may play a protective role in POAG and warrant further investigation.