Association of apolipoprotein E with a risk of primary open‐angle glaucoma

• Published in: Acta ophthalmologica (Oxford, England) Vol. 95; no. S259
• Main Authors: Szaflik, J.P., Nowak, A., Rozpędek, W., Siwak, M., Szymanek, K., Szaflik, M., Szaflik, J., Majsterek, I.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Malden Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.09.2017
• Subjects: Apolipoprotein E; Apolipoproteins; Blood; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Gene expression; Glaucoma; Neurodegenerative diseases; Optic nerve; Proteins; Retina; Retinal ganglion cells; Statistical analysis; Statistics
• ISSN: 1755-375X; 1755-3768
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1755-3768.2017.04128

Purpose Glaucoma is classified as a neurodegenerative disorders. It is characterized by loss of retinal ganglion cell (RGC) and changes in the structure of the optic nerve. The exact mechanism of RGC death is multifactorial and unclear. Many reports have focused on the possible role of apolipoprotein E (APOE) in the development risk of glaucoma. Methods The study involved 30 patients with primary open‐angle glaucoma (POAG) and 30 age‐matched healthy subjects. Material for the study was the whole blood and the aqueous humor. The main goal of this study was to assess the expression level of APOE in whole blood and serum of patients with POAG compared with a control subjects without glaucoma. Moreover, we evaluated the expression level of APOE protein in the aqueous humor in POAG patients. The level of mRNA expression was determined by QRT‐PCR and the protein level was evaluated by ELISA. The statistical analysis was performed using the non‐parametric Mann‐Whitney U test. Results The results of APOE mRNA expression level in the blood have shown no statistical differences between POAG patients and control subjects (p > 0.05). However, the analysis of protein level in the serum has showed a higher expression of APOE of POAG patients compared with the control group (p ≤ 0.05; 5106.07 ng/ml vs 4294.70 ng/ml). Additionally, we have observed a tendency to increase in concentration of APOE in the aqueous humor in POAG patients (262.12 ng/ml) compared with controls (173.83 ng/ml). Conclusions Our research suggests that altered level of APOE may be related to the development of primary open angle glaucoma.