Evaluation of sFLT1 protein levels in human eyes with the FLT1 rs9943922 polymorphism.

Ophthalmic Genet

a The Stephen A. Wynn Institute for Vision Research and the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences , The University of Iowa, Iowa City , Iowa , USA.

Published: March 2018

AI Article Synopsis

  • Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a serious eye disease that leads to vision loss, particularly in older adults, and is associated with the growth of abnormal blood vessels beneath the retina, known as neovascular AMD.
  • Researchers investigated the connection between a specific genetic variant (rs9943922 SNP) in the FLT1 gene and protein levels related to this condition in human retinal tissue.
  • Their findings revealed that while levels of soluble FLT1 protein are higher in retinal pigment epithelium/choroid tissue compared to retina, the genetic variant did not significantly change FLT1 protein levels, indicating it may not play a major role in AMD progression.

Article Abstract

Purpose: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a devastating disease characterized by central vision impairment in individuals with advanced age. Neovascular AMD is a form of end-stage disease in which choroidal vessel outgrowth occurs beneath the retina. While many hypotheses have been raised as to what triggers the formation of pathological choroidal neovascular membranes, the exact mechanism for their initiation remains unresolved. Polymorphisms in the FLT1 gene have previously been associated with neovascular AMD risk, including the rs9943922 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). Here, we aimed to determine the association between the high-risk FLT1 genotype and FLT1 protein levels in human retina or retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)/choroid tissue.

Methods: Retina and RPE/choroid tissue from 10 human donor eyes was selected from a collection of eyes genotyped for the rs9943922 SNP. Differences in soluble and membrane bound FLT1 protein levels were assessed for retina versus RPE/choroid donor tissue using ELISA and Western blotting analyses. Genotype-associated changes in FLT1 protein levels were also evaluated.

Results: We found soluble FLT1 levels in the RPE/choroid tissue to be approximately three times higher than that of the retina (p < 0.001), while both samples have similar levels of the membrane bound form. When tissue with the rs9943922 SNP was compared with controls, no significant genotypic differences in FLT1 protein levels were observed.

Conclusions: Based on these data, we conclude that the rs9943922 SNP in the FLT1 gene does not result in a large difference in FLT1 protein levels, regardless of whether it is the soluble or the membrane bound form.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5751420PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13816810.2017.1369550DOI Listing

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