Association of -634 C/G Polymorphism at Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Gene with Risk Retinopathy of Prematurity

Background: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a major cause of blindness in newborn infants worldwide. It is well known that neovascularization of the retina is prominent in the proliferative stages of ROP. It is suggested that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) may play a role in the development of ROP. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of the VEGF -634C/G polymorphism at VEGF with risk of ROP. Methods: In the study 54 neonates diagnosed with ROP and 55 healthy neonates served as controls. The VEGF -634 C/G polymorphism was genotyped by restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technique. Results: The CC, CG, and GG genotypes of VEGF -634C/G polymorphism were found in 33.3%, 38.9%, and 27.8% of neonates with ROP, respectively. In controls, CC, CG, and GG genotypes were seen in 43.6%, 45.4%, and 10.9%, respectively. Frequency of mutant allele (C) was 52.8% in neonates with ROP and 66.4% in healthy neonates. There was a significant difference in the distribution of VEGF -634C/G polymorphisms between cases and controls. Moreover, there was a significant association between VEGF -634C/G polymorphisms and ROP risk (OR = 3.141, 95% CI 1.115-8.851, P = 0.030). Conclusion: This study results revealed that VEGF -634C/G polymorphism might serve as a risk factor for development of ROP. Thus, clinicians should be aware of the ROP risk in infant with the VEGF -634C/G polymorphism and ROP risk in infants. However, large sample size and well-designed studies are necessary to validate our findings.