effect of fas -670 a/g gene polymorphism on corneal allograft endothelial rejection

background: human cornea expresses functional fas-ligand capable of killing fas+ activated lymphocytes. fas expression is partly regulated by -670 a/g polymorphism in the promoter region of fas gene. objective: the aim of the present study is to determine the association between fas-670a/g polymorphism and survival of corneal transplantation. methods: in 276 graft recipients who mainly underwent penetrating keratoplasty because of keratoconus, bullous keratopathy and corneal opacity, fas -670 a/g polymorphism was determined by allele specific oligonucleotide polymerase chain reaction (aso-pcr) techniques. results: there was no statistically significant relationship between fas -670 a/g polymorphism and rejection episode (p=0.35). moreover, the relationship between this polymorphism and rejection episode outcome (transplant recovery vs failure) was not statistically significant (p=0.13). conclusion: the results of the present study show no significant correlation between corneal graft rejection, rejection recovery and fas -670a/g gene polymorphism.