TGFB1 and LAMA1 gene polymorphisms in children with high myopia

Objective: To investigate TGFB1 and LAMA1 gene polymorphisms in children with high myopia in order to determine the genetic basis of large myopic shifts causing severe visual impairment and complications.

Methods: Seventy-four children with high myopia (≥6 diopters [D]; study group) and 77 emmetropic children (±0.5D; control group) were included. Genetic and polymorphism analyses were performed in the Medical Genetics Laboratory using DNA purified from the patients’ blood samples.

Results: Mean ages of the patients were 7.1±3 (3-13) and 9.6±1.8 (6-13) years in the study and control groups, respectively. Mean refraction in the high myopia group were -10.1±4.3D in the right and -8.9±3.6D in the left eye. LAMA1 gene analysis of the study group revealed heterozygous mutations in 34 patients (45.9%), homozygous mutations in 25 patients (33.8%), and no mutations in the remaining 15 patients (20.3%). In the control group, there were 31 subjects (40.3%) with heterozygous, 27 (35.1%) with homozygous LAMA1 mutations, and no mutations in 19 (24.7%) (p=0.73). TGFB1 gene analysis showed heterozygous mutations in 32 (43.2%) and homozygous mutations in 10 patients (13.5%) in the study group, while 32 patients (43.2%) had no mutations. In the control group, 35 subjects (45.5%) had heterozygous, 8 (10.4%) had homozygous, and 34 (44.1%) had no TGFB1 mutations (p=0.36).

Conclusion: This is the first study to simultaneously examine two genes in high myopia in a Turkish population. However, we observed no significant differences in TGFB1 and LAMA1 gene polymorphisms in patients with high myopia compared to healthy subjects.