rs5888 Variant of SCARB1 Gene Is a Possible Susceptibility Factor for Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Major genetic factors for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) have recently been identified as susceptibility risk factors, including variants in the CFH gene and the ARMS2 LOC387715/HTRA1locus. Our purpose was to perform a case-control study in two populations among individuals who did not carry risk variants for CFHY402H and LOC387715 A69S (ARMS2), called “study” individuals, in order to identify new genetic risk factors. Based on a candidate gene approach, we analyzed SNP rs5888 of the SCARB1 gene, coding for SRBI, which is involved in the lipid and lutein pathways. This study was conducted in a French series of 1241 AMD patients and 297 controls, and in a North American series of 1257 patients with advanced AMD and 1732 controls. Among these individuals, we identified 61 French patients, 77 French controls, 85 North American patients and 338 North American controls who did not carry the CFH nor ARMS2 polymorphisms. An association between AMD and the SCARB1 gene was seen among the study subjects. The genotypic distribution of the rs5888 polymorphism was significantly different between cases and controls in the French population (p<0.006). Heterozygosity at the rs5888 SNP increased risk of AMD compared to the CC genotypes in the French study population (odds ratio (OR) = 3.5, CI95%: 1.4–8.9, p<0.01) and after pooling the 2 populations (OR = 2.9, 95% CI: 1.6–5.3, p<0.002). Subgroup analysis in exudative forms of AMD revealed a pooled OR of 3.6 for individuals heterozygous for rs5888 (95% CI: 1.7–7.6, p<0.0015). These results suggest the possible contribution of SCARB1, a new genetic factor in AMD, and implicate a role for cholesterol and antioxidant micronutrient (lutein and vitamin E) metabolism in AMD.     

棉花抗逆基因GhAREB4的克隆及功能分析

AREBs转录因子家族基因主要参与干旱、高盐、低温等胁迫应答反应,在植物抵御各种逆境胁迫中起着非常重要的作用。该研究经序列电子拼接克隆了陆地棉GhAREB4基因,该基因全长1 784bp,其开放阅读框为1 227bp,编码408个氨基酸,预测分子量为44.3kD,等电点为8.88。蛋白结构预测发现,该蛋白二级结构中含有bZIP基因家族的保守结构域。系统进化树分析表明,GhAREB4与可可的AREB转录因子同源性最高。绿色荧光蛋白亚细胞定位分析表明,GhAREB4蛋白分布在细胞核内。qRT-PCR分析表明,GhAREB4基因在花中的表达量最高;且GhAREB4基因表达受到干旱、高盐、低温、脱落酸(ABA)等处理的诱导,其可能调控棉花对非生物逆境的耐性响应。研究结果为进一步研究该基因对棉花耐逆调控机制奠定了基础。