SPARC and glaucoma: We selected SPARC as a candidate causative gene for glaucoma mainly based on that the SPARC protein may function to promote extracellular matrix deposition [31] and is rich in eye tissues, especially in the trabecular meshwork and the juxtacanalicular region [35], that SPARC in TM cells is regulated by elevated IOP and mechanical stretching [38,39], that SPARC null mice have lower IOP [41], and that SPARC has been mapped to 5q31.3-q32 within the GLC1M (5q22.1–32) locus.