Nonrandom Distribution of miRNAs Genes and Single Nucleotide Variants in Keratoconus Loci

PLoS One. 2015 Jul 15;10(7):e0132143. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0132143. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Despite numerous studies, the causes of both development and progression of keratoconus remain elusive. Previous studies of this disorder focused mainly on one or two genetic factors only. However, in the analysis of such complex diseases all potential factors should be taken into consideration. The purpose of this study was a comprehensive analysis of known keratoconus loci to uncover genetic factors involved in this disease causation in the general population, which could be omitted in the original studies. In this investigation genomic data available in various databases and experimental own data were assessed. The lists of single nucleotide variants and miRNA genes localized in reported keratoconus loci were obtained from Ensembl and miRBase, respectively. The potential impact of nonsynonymous amino acid substitutions on protein structure and function was assessed with PolyPhen-2 and SIFT. For selected protein genes the ranking was made to choose those most promising for keratoconus development. Ranking results were based on topological features in the protein-protein interaction network. High specificity for the populations in which the causative sequence variants have been identified was found. In addition, the possibility of links between previously analyzed keratoconus loci was confirmed including miRNA-gene interactions. Identified number of genes associated with oxidative stress and inflammatory agents corroborated the hypothesis of their effect on the disease etiology. Distribution of the numerous sequences variants within both exons and mature miRNA which forces you to search for a broader look at the determinants of keratoconus. Our findings highlight the complexity of the keratoconus genetics.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms
  • Amino Acid Substitution
  • Databases, Genetic
  • Gene Frequency
  • Genetic Loci
  • Humans
  • Keratoconus / genetics*
  • Keratoconus / pathology
  • MicroRNAs / genetics*
  • MicroRNAs / metabolism
  • Nucleic Acid Conformation
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide*
  • Protein Interaction Maps
  • RNA / chemistry
  • RNA / metabolism

Substances

  • MicroRNAs
  • RNA

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, grants no. N N402 097837 (DMN) and N N402 591740 (MG DMN) and National Science Centre in Poland, grants no. 2011/03/N/NZ5/01470 (DMN) and 2012/05/E/NZ5/02127 (MG). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.