The Role of C21orf91 in Herpes Simplex Virus Keratitis

Abstract

Background and Objectives: This paper aims to describe the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of C21orf91 rs1062202 and rs10446073 in patients with herpetic keratitis by evaluating corneal sub-basal nerves, as well as the density of Langerhans cells (LC) and endothelium cells (EC) during the acute phase of the disease. Materials and Methods: A prospective clinical study included 260 subjects: 70 with herpetic eye disease, 101 with previous history of herpes labialis—but no history of herpetic eye disease—and 89 with no history of any herpes simplex virus (HSV) diseases. All subjects underwent a complete ophthalmological examination including in vivo laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) of the central cornea. C21orf91 rs1062202 and rs10446073 were genotyped using the real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method with the Rotor-Gene Q real-time PCR quantification system. SNPs were determined using TaqMan genotyping assay, according to the manufacturer’s manual. Results: The C21orf91 rs10446073 genotype GT was more frequent in the HSV keratitis group, compared with healthy controls (20.0% vs. 7.9%), OR 2.929[1.11–7.716] (p < 0.05). The rs10446073 genotype TT was more frequent in healthy controls (12.4% vs. 1.4%), OR 22.0[2.344–260.48] (p < 0.05). The rs10446073 genotype GT increased the risk of EC density being less than 2551.5 cell/mm2, OR 2.852[1.248–6.515] (p < 0.05). None of the SNPs and their genotypes influenced the LC density and corneal sub-basal nerve parameters (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Our study reports a new association between herpetic keratitis and human gene C21orf91, with the rs10446073 genotype GT being more common in herpetic keratitis patients and increasing the risk for the disease by a factor of 2.9.

Long Non-coding RNA BTG3-7:1 and JUND Co-regulate C21ORF91 to Promote Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Progress

“…Also, previous studies have indicated that the C21ORF91 gene encoding cytosolic protein plays a role in biological processes, such as cerebral cortex neuron differentiation, cell differentiation and regulation of dendritic spine development (Danileviciene et al, 2019). Recently, few researches show relationship between the C21ORF91 gene and herpes labialis, in which C21ORF91 gene is identified as direct targets of miR-194 in hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HCC) (Kriesel et al, 2011;Bao et al, 2015), but its function is not clear.…”

Herpes simplex keratitis: A brief clinical overview

“…Danileviciene et al [ 154 ], identified the role of the C21orf91 gene in the development of HSK where they described the condition to be 2.9 times more likely in patients with the rs10446073 genotype being more common[ 154 ]. According to Borivoje et al [ 155 ], the CC IL28B gene has been identified to be present in individuals with recurrent HSK[ 155 ].…”

Clinico-microbiological Profile of Burkholderia cepacia Keratitis: a Case Series

“…Matoba also presented a patient with herpetic stroma keratitis, under oral acyclovir and topical prednisolone acetate treatment, who developed polymicrobial keratitis including B. ambifaria (belonging to the B. cepacia complex), Enterococcus spp., and Staphylococcus aureus[7]. Infection with herpes virus might cause sub-basal nerve damage of the cornea[12,13]. The impaired corneal sensory innervation leads to a reduction of protective reflexes and trophic neuromodulators, which affect the wound-healing function of the cornea[14], making its surface an easy target for opportunistic bacteria such as B. cepacia.…”