Does Matrix Metalloproteinase-3 Polymorphism Play a Role in Age-Related Macular Degeneration in Patients With Myocardial Infarction?

Rasa Liutkevičienė,Vaiva Lesauskaitė,Olivija Gustienė,Diana Žaliaduonytė-Pekšienė,Vytautas Jašinskas,Dalia Žaliūnienė,Remigijus Žaliūnas,Abdonas Tamošiūnas

doi:10.3390/medicina48080060

Abstract

The aim of our study was to determine if the genotype of the matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) gene might carry the risk of age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) in patients with myocardial infarction. A total of 499 patients with an acute myocardial infarction or with a history of myocardial infarction were enrolled into the study. They were subdivided into 2 groups: 273 patients with ARMD and 226 patients without ARMD. The control group comprised 560 persons from a random sample of the Lithuanian population. DNA was analyzed using real-time polymerase chain reaction to genotype polymorphism 5A/6A at a position -1171 of the MMP-3 gene promoter. Of the 499 patients with myocardial infarction, 47% had early-stage ARMD. The patients with ARMD were older than the patients in the group without ARMD (62.1±10.8 vs. 59.6±11.1, P<0.01). The analysis of MMP-3 gene polymorphism did not reveal any differences in the distribution of 5A/5A, 5A/6A, and 6A/6A genotypes between the ARMD group, non-ARMD group, and the control group (24.2%, 52.5%, and 23.3% in the ARMD group; 28.7%, 51.9%, and 19.4% in non-ARMD group; and 25.7%, 49.3% and 25.0%, in the control group, respectively). MMP-3 gene polymorphism had no predominant effect on the development of ARMD in patients with myocardial infarction.

Highlights

Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) is a leading cause of irreversible blindness in elderly people
The analysis of matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) gene polymorphism did not reveal any differences in the distribution of 5A/5A, 5A/6A, and 6A/6A genotypes between the ARMD group, non-ARMD group, and the control group (24.2%, 52.5%, and 23.3% in the ARMD group; 28.7%, 51.9%, and 19.4% in non-ARMD group; and 25.7%, 49.3% and 25.0%, in the control group, respectively)
matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-3 gene polymorphism had no predominant effect on the development of ARMD in patients with myocardial infarction

Summary

Introduction

Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) is a leading cause of irreversible blindness in elderly people. ARMD is the most common cause of visual loss in persons aged more than 60 years in the developed countries [1]. Population estimates have placed the prevalence of ARMD approximately at the level of 7% to 10% among adults aged 40–90 years [2, 3]. ARMD is a disease of multifactorial etiology. Female gender, oxidative stress, long-term exposure to sunlight, low levels of nutritional antioxidants, nutrition habits, and traditional risk factors for ischemic heart disease (IHD) (cigarette smoking, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, obesity, hypercholesterolemia, and alcohol abuse) have been implicated as possible etiological factors for the development of ARMD [4,5,6,7,8]

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