Association of the rs4762 Polymorphism in the Angiotensinogen (AGT) Gene with Diabetic Retinopathy in the Kashan Population

Nakhaei Sistani, Rohollah; Zafarian, Zakie; Salmanpour, Mahdi; Farajipour, Hassan; Aghajani, Ali

doi:10.22034/cmr.2026.8666.3331

Association of the rs4762 Polymorphism in the Angiotensinogen (AGT) Gene with Diabetic Retinopathy in the Kashan Population

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Rohollah Nakhaei Sistani ¹

Zakie Zafarian ¹

Mahdi Salmanpour ²

Hassan Farajipour ³

Ali Aghajani ⁴

¹ Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran.

² Department of Statistics, Faculty of Mathematical Sciences, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran.

³ Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran

⁴ Department of Parasitology, School of Medicine, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran

10.22034/cmr.2026.8666.3331

Abstract

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the leading causes of vision impairment and blindness in middle-aged individuals with diabetes. Hypertension is considered among the most significant risk factors for its development. In diabetic retinopathy, retinal capillaries undergo gradual changes, leading to impaired blood supply in certain areas. Consequently, vascular permeability increases, and in response to ischemia, abnormal new blood vessels proliferate in the retina. The AGT (angiotensinogen) gene is a component of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), which produces angiotensin II. Elevated levels of angiotensin II in the eye may be associated with inflammation and the pathology of diabetic retinopathy. Diseases linked to the AGT gene include renal tubular dysgenesis, diabetic retinopathy, and hypertension. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the rs4762 polymorphism of the AGT gene and diabetic retinopathy in an Iranian population. The study was conducted on 150 individuals from Kashan, including 50 healthy controls, 50 diabetic patients without retinopathy, 50 diabetic patients with retinopathy. Blood samples were collected, and DNA was extracted using the salting-out method. The rs4762 polymorphism was analyzed using high-resolution melting (HRM) after appropriate primer design. The findings revealed no significant difference in allele or genotype frequencies of this polymorphism between disease statuses (p > 0.05), and their distribution was nearly uniform across the groups.

Keywords

Diabetis

Diabetic retinopathy

Angiotensin gene (AGT)

Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)

rs4762

Subjects