RESUMO
PURPOSE: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a multifactorial disease due to interaction between genetic and environmental factors. Increased angiogenesis plays a central role in AMD development. Previous studies on the potential link between AMD and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGFA) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) have yielded conflicting results. We have analysed if polymorphisms in genes coding for VEGFA and VEGFR are associated to susceptibility to suffer AMD in a cohort of Spanish subjects. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We obtained peripheral blood samples from 151 patients with diagnosis of exudative AMD. We also studied 91 healthy subjects matched by age. We studied VEGFA rs699947 and rs833061, and VEGFR2 rs2071559 polymorphisms using real-time PCR with TaqMan probes. RESULTS: We did not find statistically significant differences in genotypic distribution of VEGF rs699947 and rs833061 polymorphisms between patients and controls. However, analysis of VEGFR2 rs2071559 polymorphism shows that carriers of GG genotype are more frequent in subjects with AMD (p: 0.032; Odds Ratio(OR): 1.933; confidence interval (CI): 1.053-3.549), but, when corrected by Bonferroni testing, the result was found to be not significant. CONCLUSION: Our study shows that VEGFA rs699947 and rs833061 and VEGFR2 rs2071559 polymorphisms do not modify the risk of suffering AMD in a Spanish population.
Assuntos
Degeneração Macular/epidemiologia , Degeneração Macular/genética , Fator A de Crescimento do Endotélio Vascular/genética , Receptor 2 de Fatores de Crescimento do Endotélio Vascular/genética , Idoso , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Feminino , Predisposição Genética para Doença/epidemiologia , Predisposição Genética para Doença/genética , Genótipo , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Polimorfismo Genético , Fatores de Risco , Espanha/epidemiologiaRESUMO
Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is the major cause of morbidity and mortality among patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Although animal models have been clearly established for the study of skin, liver, and gut, currently there is no equivalent experiemental model for analyzing ocular involvement, which is rather common, especially among patients diagnosed with chronic GVHD. In the current study we have developed a murine model of ocular GVHD and, for the first time, we describe the histopathologic features involving cornea and limbus, which could play a role in the physiopathology of the disease at the ocular level. Our results represent a major finding that allows us to define a model for evaluating new therapeutic strategies for treating ocular GVHD prior to their use in clinical setting.
