Prevalence of high-risk alleles in the LOXL1 gene and its association with pseudoexfoliation syndrome and exfoliation glaucoma in a Latin American population.

Purpose: Pseudoexfoliation syndrome (XFS) is a major risk factor for exfoliation glaucoma (XFG). A significant association exists between XFG and several SNPs in the lysyl oxidase-like 1 (LOXL1) gene. The purpose of this study was to report the results of the first association study between LOXL1 polymorphisms and XFS and/or XFG in a Latin American population.

Methods: Genotypes of three high-risk SNPs of LOXL1 (rs1048661, rs3825942, and rs2165241) were analyzed by direct sequencing. A case-control study was conducted with 102 unrelated XFS/XFG Mexican patients (42 XFS/60 XFG) as well as 97 control subjects. Allele frequencies, Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, and haplotype association analysis were assessed with the Haplo View software.

Results: The T allele of the intronic SNP rs2165241 was more frequent in XFS/XFG patients than in controls (OR [95% CI] = 2.41 [1.59-3.64]; p = 0.00001). The G allele of rs3825942 was found in a higher frequency in XFS/XFG than in controls (100% vs 95% respectively, p = 0.0019). No significant association between XFS and the rs1048661 (R141L) SNP was observed. The TGT haplotype was observed in a higher frequency in patients than in controls (p = 0.025), and produced the highest risk in our study (OR [95% CI] = 3.20 [1.09-9.39]; p = 0.025).

Conclusions: This is the first study associating LOXL1 gene polymorphism and XFS/XFG in Latin America. LOXL1 variants are associated with an elevated risk for XFS/XFG in the Mexican population. A higher risk was conferred by the T allele of the intronic rs2165241 SNP rather than by the worldwide "high-risk" G allele of rs3825942.