Evaluation of the Myocilin Mutation Gln368Stop Demonstrates Reduced Penetrance for Glaucoma in European Populations

Abstract

Purpose: Sequence variations in the myocilin (MYOC) gene account for approximately 2% to 4% of glaucoma cases. One particular MYOC mutation, Gln368Stop (dbSNP accession number: rs74315329), is the most common genetic mutation causing glaucoma by increasing intraocular pressure (IOP). The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of this MYOC mutation on IOP using data from large-scale European population panels (directly sequenced and imputation based).

Design: Cross-sectional, cohort study.

Participants: For this study, the penetrance of the variant rs74315329 was estimated in 2 population-based cohorts, the TwinsUK (N = 6092) and the Rotterdam Study (RS) (N =11 189).

Methods: Carriers of the risk allele for rs74315329 were identified using whole-genome sequencing and imputation data (based on 1000 Genomes Project and Haplotype Reference Consortium panels). The penetrance of this variant was evaluated using IOP measurements and data on visual field testing/a diagnosis of glaucoma (if available).

Main outcome measures: The penetrance of the variant rs74315329 was estimated from the percentage of the carriers of the risk allele of the variant who had high IOP (ocular hypertension) or glaucoma.

Results: In our study, the observed penetrance of the variant rs74315329 in relation to increased IOP was 12.5% and 19.4% in the TwinsUK and the RS, respectively. Thus, our study suggests a much lower penetrance for rs74315329 for ocular hypertension (and thus glaucoma), in comparison with that reported previously.

Conclusions: The significance of this finding is that higher numbers of healthy individuals in the population are expected to be carriers of this mutation, which in turn reduces the utility of identifying carriers of this mutation as a screening tool for glaucoma.