Association of the MYOC p.(Gln368Ter) Variant with Glaucoma in a Finnish Population

Perttu J. Liuska, Susanna Lemmelä, Aki S. Havulinna, Kai Kaarniranta, Hannu Uusitalo, Hannele Laivuori, Tuomo Kiiskinen, Mark J. Daly, Aarno Palotie, Joni A. Turunen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

Abstract

Importance: The c.1102C>T, p.(Gln368Ter) variant in the myocilin (MYOC) gene is a known risk allele for glaucoma. It is the most common MYOC risk variant for glaucoma among individuals of European ancestry, and its prevalence is highest in Finland. Furthermore, exfoliation syndrome has high prevalence in Scandinavia, making the Finnish population ideal to study the association of the variant with different types of glaucoma. Objectives: To examine the association and penetrance of MYOC p.(Gln368Ter) (rs74315329) variant with different types of glaucoma in a Finnish population. Design, Setting, and Participants: This genetic association study included individuals of Finnish ancestry in the FinnGen project. The participants were collected from Finnish biobanks, and the disease end points were defined using nationwide registries. The MYOC c.1102C>T variant was either directly genotyped or imputed with microarrays. Recruitment of samples to FinnGen was initiated in 2017, and data analysis was performed between December 2019 and May 2020. Main Outcomes and Measures: The main outcomes were odds ratios (ORs) and penetrance with different types of glaucoma and in different age groups. Results: A total of 218792 individuals were included in this study (mean [SD] age 52.4 [17.5] years; 123579 women [56.5%]), including 8591 (3.9%) with glaucoma, 3412 (1.6%) with primary open-angle glaucoma, 1515 (0.7%) with exfoliation glaucoma, 892 (0.4%) with normal-tension glaucoma, and 4766 (2.2%) with suspected glaucoma. The minor allele frequency of MYOC p.(Gln368Ter) was 0.28%. Individuals with the heterozygous variant had higher odds of primary open-angle glaucoma (OR, 3.36; 95% CI, 2.55-4.37), overall glaucoma (OR, 2.58; 95% CI, 2.12-3.13), suspected glaucoma (OR, 2.53; 95% CI, 1.93-3.26), exfoliation glaucoma (OR, 2.61; 95% CI, 1.60-4.02), and undergoing glaucoma-related operations (OR, 5.45; 95% CI, 2.95-9.28). The penetrance of heterozygous MYOC p.(Gln368Ter) was 5.2% in individuals with primary open-angle glaucoma, 9.6% in individuals with glaucoma, 5.4% in individuals with suspected glaucoma, and 1.9% in individuals with exfoliation glaucoma. There was no significant association with normal-tension glaucoma (OR, 1.69; 95% CI, 0.72-3.35). Conclusions and Relevance: This genetic association study found that the MYOC p.(Gln368Ter) variant was associated with exfoliation glaucoma. The association with normal-tension glaucoma could not be replicated. These findings suggest that MYOC p.(Gln368Ter) was associated with open-angle glaucoma and exfoliation glaucoma in a Finnish population..

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)762-768
JournalJAMA OPHTHALMOLOGY
Volume139
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 3 Jun 2021
Publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

Publication forum classification

  • Publication forum level 2

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ophthalmology

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