Abstract
Objective: The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGFA) gene has been suggested to play an important role in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy (DR). However, the results have been inconsistent. In this study, we performed a meta-analysis to clarify the associations between VEGFA polymorphisms and DR risk across different populations. Methods: Published literature from PubMed and EMBASE were retrieved. Pooled odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated using fixed or random-effects model. Results: Eight studies (1204 cases and 1198 controls) for rs699947 polymorphism and 10 studies (1666 cases and 1782 controls) for rs2010963 polymorphism were included in the meta-analysis. The results indicated that rs699947 polymorphism was significantly associated with DR among Europeans under a dominant model (OR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.07–2.02), but not among East Asians under all genetic models. In addition, there was no significant association between rs2010963 polymorphism and DR under all genetic models by ethnicity and type of DR. Conclusions: The present meta-analysis indicated that rs699947 polymorphism might be associated with the risk of DR among Europeans but not among East Asians; rs2010963 polymorphism was not associated with DR among either ethnic group.
Highlights
The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGFA) gene has been suggested to play an important role in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy (DR)
Our meta-analysis confirmed the significant association between rs699947 polymorphism and DR
After exclusion of outliers, and rs2010963 polymorphism might be not associated with DR
Summary
The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGFA) gene has been suggested to play an important role in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy (DR). We performed a meta-analysis to clarify the associations between VEGFA polymorphisms and DR risk. It is well established that DR is determined by both genetic and environmental factors. The longer duration of diabetes, poorer control of blood glucose and elevated blood pressure are the major risk factors in the development of DR. Genetic factors play important roles in the pathogenesis of DR [2]. It would be useful to identify molecular markers that may help to predict the development of DR at earlier stages of diabetes. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGFA), an endothelial cellspecific mitogen, has been implicated as a major contributor to the development of DR [3]. The VEGFA gene is located on chromosome 6p21.3 and consists of
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