Identification and Association of Polymorphism rs2073618 of the Osteoprotegerin Gene in Type 2 Diabetics with and without Retinopathy.

OBJECTIVE To identify and determine the association of SNP (rs2073618) of OPG gene in diabetics with and without retinopathy and in healthy controls. STUDY DESIGN Descriptive study. Place and Duration of the Study: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Army Medical College, Rawalpindi in collaboration with Chemical Pathology Laboratory, Pak Emirates Military Hospital, Rawalpindi and Armed Forces Institute of Ophthalmology, Rawalpindi, from June 2021 to May 2022. METHODOLOGY Participants aged 25-70 years were inducted and divided into three equal groups. Group I consisted of diabetics with retinopathy (n = 50), group II was diabetics without retinopathy (n = 50), and group III was healthy individuals (n = 50). DNA was extracted and allele specific PCR technique was adopted using specifically designed primers. Results were analysed using the software Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0 and online bio-informatics tool SNPstats. RESULTS CC, CG, and GG genotypes were found to be present in 94%, 4%, and 2% in diabetics without retinopathy, 92%, 4%, and 4% in diabetics with retinopathy, respectively, and 100% presence of CC genotype only in healthy controls. C and G alleles were present in 96% and 4%, respectively, in diabetics without retinopathy, with 100% presence of only C allele in healthy subjects. The genotypic assessment using the models showed no significant association. CONCLUSION SNP rs2073618 of OPG gene was identified in all study groups without any significant distribution or association with the development of diabetic retinopathy. The major genotype C/C was found in the majority of subjects in all groups. KEY WORDS Allele specific PCR, Diabetic retinopathy, Single nucleotide polymorphism, Type 2 Diabetes mellitus.