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Genome-wide association meta-analysis highlights light-induced signaling as a driver for refractive error

  • CREAM
  • , 23andMe Research Team
  • , UK Biobank Eye and Vision Consortium
  • Erasmus University Rotterdam
  • Johns Hopkins University
  • National Institutes of Health
  • King's College London
  • 23andMe Inc.
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • National University of Singapore
  • University of Cambridge
  • Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
  • Singapore National Eye Center
  • University of Bern
  • Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
  • Kyoto University
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • University of Tartu
  • Helsinki University Hospital
  • University of Helsinki
  • Heidelberg University 
  • Capital Medical University
  • University of Melbourne
  • The University of Sydney
  • University of Toronto
  • Cardiff University
  • University of Bristol
  • University of Edinburgh
  • University of Split
  • Sisters of Charity Hospital
  • Duke-NUS Medical School
  • Flinders University
  • Chinese University of Hong Kong

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

308 Scopus citations

Abstract

Refractive errors, including myopia, are the most frequent eye disorders worldwide and an increasingly common cause of blindness. This genome-wide association meta-analysis in 160,420 participants and replication in 95,505 participants increased the number of established independent signals from 37 to 161 and showed high genetic correlation between Europeans and Asians (>0.78). Expression experiments and comprehensive in silico analyses identified retinal cell physiology and light processing as prominent mechanisms, and also identified functional contributions to refractive-error development in all cell types of the neurosensory retina, retinal pigment epithelium, vascular endothelium and extracellular matrix. Newly identified genes implicate novel mechanisms such as rod-and-cone bipolar synaptic neurotransmission, anterior-segment morphology and angiogenesis. Thirty-one loci resided in or near regions transcribing small RNAs, thus suggesting a role for post-transcriptional regulation. Our results support the notion that refractive errors are caused by a light-dependent retina-to-sclera signaling cascade and delineate potential pathobiological molecular drivers.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)834-848
Number of pages15
JournalNature Genetics
Volume50
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 1 2018

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