Glutathione S-transferases Polymorphisms With Senile Cortical Cataract In The Han Chinese Population

Purpose:Glutathione S-transferases(GSTs) are a group of dimeric detoxification enzymes that play an important role in detoxifying exogenous and endogenous toxic compounds under conditions of oxidative stress. Recent studies found that GSTs polymorphisms have been shown to be associated with several eye-related diseases including glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration and cataract. We therefore designed this study to examine whether the GST polymorphisms were associated with senile cortical cataract in the Han Chinese population in the Chinese Han population. Methods: The study included 422 patients with senile cortical cataract and 312 healthy controls which were come from Chinese Han population. Glutathione S-transferase M1(GSTM1) and glutathione S-transferase T1(GSTT1) gene polymorphisms were genotyped in 422 Han Chinese patients with age-related cortical cataract, and in 312 age, sex, and ethnically matched healthy controls, using a multiplex polymerase chain reaction. Student’s t-test was used to compare the ages of the patient and control groups. The GSTM1 and GSTT1 genotypes were compared between patients and controls by the χ2 test, using SPSS. This study also collected the data of subject life styles including smoking, alcohol and under the strong light. We analysis these factors using the Logistic regression. Results: The results show that the frequency of the GSTM1 positive genotype is significantly higher in the patients relative to the healthy controls(P=0.0002, OR 1.74,95% CI: 1.30-2.34). There was a statistically significant association between the GSTM1 positive genotype and ARC in both female and male groups according to stratify by sex(p=0.026,OR 1.58,95%CI:1.05-2.36;p=0. 002,OR 1.97,95% CI:1.27-3.04). It was found that the risk of cortical ARC was significantly increased in patients with a combination of GSTM1 positive and GSTT1 null genotypes(p=0.002,OR 2.19,95% CI:1.33-3.60). Age, smoking status and under strong light had reported to involve in the pathogenesis of ARC, Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the actual risk conferred by the genetic variants. The result revealed that smoking and under the strong light may be two risk factors for the development of ARC(r=0.120, p=0.013; r=0.34,p=0.002). The expression of GSTM1 was increased in the ARC group, especially in the smoking and under strong light ARC group. Conclusions: Our study suggests that the GSTM1 positive genotype and a combination of GSTM1 positive and GSTT1 null genotypes may be associated with a susceptibility to age-related cortical cataract in the Han Chinese population. The current study indicates that smoking and under the strong light may be two important factors in the development of cortical ARC.