Association of mitochondrial haplogroups H and R with keratoconus in Saudi Arabian patients

Journal Article
نوع عمل المنشور: 
Research Article
المجلة \ الصحيفة: 
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science
رقم العدد: 
5
رقم الإصدار السنوي: 
55
الصفحات: 
2827-2831
مستخلص المنشور: 

Abstract
Purpose. Keratoconic corneas exhibit more mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage than do normal corneas and thus mtDNA may represent a potential candidate for genetic susceptibility studies in keratoconus. To test this hypothesis we determined mitochondrial haplogroups in Saudi patients with keratoconus and healthy controls of same ethnicity.
Methods. Mitochondrial haplogrouping was performed by polymerase chain reaction–based automated Sanger sequencing in 114 patients with keratoconus and 552 healthy controls.
Results. Mitochondrial haplogroups H and R were significantly overrepresented in patients with keratoconus (28.9% vs. 8.5%, P < 0.0001 and 17.5% vs. 3.1%, P < 0.0001, respectively) as compared to healthy controls.
Conclusions. Our data suggest that individuals with mitochondrial haplogroups H and R are at increased risk to develop keratoconus. In addition, the results provide further evidence for a plausible role of mtDNA in keratoconus etiology