Expression Profiling of (L) Superfamily of Genes in Various Human Eye Tissues.

Background: A disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs (ADAMTS) is a superfamily of extracellular proteinases found in both mammals and invertebrates. Although there is some evidence about the role of ADAMTSs in ocular diseases such as glaucoma and ectopia lentis, but there is little information about the expression patterns of and ADAMTS-like ( and ) genes in human ocular tissues. This study aimed to evaluate the expression profiling of (L) superfamily of genes in different ocular tissues based on age.

Methods: In 2019, nine human donated eye globes were provided from the Central Eye Bank of Iran, and were divided into three different groups based on age (under 3 yr old, between 20 to 50 and upper 50 yr old). To assess expression patterns of (L) genes in different ocular tissues including trabecular meshwork, lens, retinal pigment epithelium, macula, and optic nerve in the three age groups, total RNA was extracted from the tissues and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction followed by Real-time PCR was performed.

Results: We demonstrated not only each member of (L) superfamily shows different expression pattern between the five investigated ocular tissues, but also some members have differential expressions among the investigated age groups in same tissues.

Conclusion: Differential expression of (L) genes in ocular tissues from different age groups could explain some functional aspects of the tissues and also may be used as prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers for ocular diseases and pathologies. Further studies are required to explore their functional roles associated with ocular pathologies.