Relationships between Lipid-Related Metabolites and Age-Related Macular Degeneration Vary with Complement Genotype
Ralene Sim, Yih Chung Tham, Bjorn Kaijun Betzler, Lei Zhou, Xiaomeng Wang, Charumathi Sabanayagam, Chui Ming Gemmy Cheung, Tien Yin Wong, Ching‐Yu Cheng, Simon Nusinovici
Abstract
Objective: Lipid dysregulation and complement system (CS) activation are 2 important pathophysiology pathways for age-related macular degeneration (AMD). We hypothesized that the relationship between lipids and AMD may also differ according to CS genotype profile. Thus, the objective was to investigate the relationships between lipid-related metabolites and AMD according to CS genotypes. Design: Population-based cross-sectional study. Participants: A total of 6947 participants from Singapore Epidemiology of Eye Diseases study with complete relevant data were included. Methods: We investigated a total of 32 blood lipid-related metabolites from nuclear magnetic resonance metabolomics data including lipoproteins and their subclasses, cholesterols, glycerides, and phospholipids, as well as 4 CS single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs): rs10922109 (complement factor H), rs10033900 (complement factor I), rs116503776 (C2-CFB-SKIV2L), and rs2230199 (C3). We first investigated the associations between AMD and the 32 lipid-related metabolites using multivariable logistic regression models. Then, to investigate whether the effect of lipid-related metabolites on AMD differ according to the CS SNPs, we tested the possible interactions between the CS SNPs and the lipid-related metabolites. Main Outcome Measures: Age-related macular degeneration was defined using the Wisconsin grading system. Results: = 0.054). Conclusions: Lipid-related metabolites exhibit opposite directions of effects on AMD according to CS genotypes. This indicates that lipid metabolism and CS may have synergistic interplay in the AMD pathogenesis.