Association of Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase Genes With Myopia: A Longitudinal Study of Chinese Children
Haishao Xiao, Shudan Lin, Dandan Jiang, Yaoyao Lin, Linjie Liu, Qiqi Zhang, Juan He, Yanyan Chen
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The present study was designed to investigate whether the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling pathway, a downstream component of dopamine signaling, is involved in myopia among Chinese children. METHODS: rs6554163. SNPscan was used to genotype single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). PLINK software was used to assess the associations of the genetic variants with the occurrence or development of myopia, SE, and other ocular parameters. We created a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and microRNA (miRNA)-gene network using String and Cytoscape and conducted enrichment analyses on the genes in these networks. RESULTS: = 0.0107]. The genes in the PPI and miRNA-gene interaction networks were subjected to enrichment analyses, which suggested that these genes are involved mainly in eye development and dopaminergic synapse-related processes. CONCLUSION: We identified genetic variants of crucial ERK signaling pathway genes that were significantly correlated with myopia and ocular parameter alterations in Chinese children. A combination of gene and miRNA functional analyses with enrichment analyses highlights the regulatory effects associated with ocular development and dopamine biological functions. This study offers novel clues to understand the role of dopamine in the molecular mechanisms of myopia.