Endothelial nitric oxide synthase polymorphisms and susceptibility to high-tension primary open-angle glaucoma in an Egyptian cohort

To analyze the association of polymorphisms of the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (NOS3) gene and nitric oxide (NO) levels with high-tension primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) in an Egyptian population. This case-control study included 160 patients who had high-tension POAG (76 men and 84 women; age range 41-75 years) and 110 controls (56 men and 54 women; age range 55-78 years). Genotyping of T-786C (rs2070744), Glu298Asp (rs1799983), and the 27-bp insertional variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) in intron 4 of the NOS3 gene was performed with an amplification refractory mutation system PCR assay. The NO level was determined by measuring the total nitrate/nitrite (NOX) plasma level. The CC genotype of the T-786C polymorphism was significantly associated with POAG (odds ratio [OR] = 2.54, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.26-5.13, p = 0.007). The C allele was significantly associated with POAG (OR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.29-2.69, p