A genome-wide association study for myopia and refractive error identifies a susceptibility locus at 15q25

5 páginas, 3 figuras, 1 tabla.-- et al.
Myopia and hyperopia are at opposite ends of the continuum of refraction, the measure of the eye′s ability to focus light, which is an important cause of visual impairment (when aberrant) and is a highly heritable trait. We conducted a genome-wide association study for refractive error in 4,270 individuals from the TwinsUK cohort. We identified SNPs on 15q25 associated with refractive error (rs8027411, P = 7.91 × 10−8). We replicated this association in six adult cohorts of European ancestry with a combined 13,414 individuals (combined P = 2.07 × 10−9). This locus overlaps the transcription initiation site of RASGRF1, which is highly expressed in neurons and retina and has previously been implicated in retinal function and memory consolidation. Rasgrf1−/− mice show a heavier average crystalline lens (P = 0.001). The identification of a susceptibility locus for refractive error on 15q25 will be important in characterizing the molecular mechanism responsible for the most common cause of visual impairment.
The King's College London authors acknowledge funding from the Wellcome Trust, the European Union MyEuropia Marie Curie Research Training Network, Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, the European Community's FP7 (HEALTH-F2-2008-201865-GEFOS), European Network of Genetic and Genomic Epidemiology (ENGAGE) (HEALTH-F4-2007-201413), the FP-5 GenomEUtwin Project (QLG2-CT-2002-01254), US National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Eye Institute (NEI) grant 1RO1EY018246 and genotyping by the NIH Center for Inherited Disease Research. The study also received support from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre award to Guy's and St. Thomas' National Health Service Foundation Trust partnering with King's College London.