Association of the miR-17-5p variants with susceptibility to cervical cancer in a Chinese population

Abstract

// Tianbo Jin 1, 2, 3, 4, * , Xiaohong Wu 5, * , Hua Yang 4 , Ming Liu 6 , Yongjun He 1, 2, 3 , Xue He 1, 2, 3 , Xugang Shi 4 , Fengjiao Wang 4 , Shuli Du 4 , Yajuan Ma 4 , Shan Bao 7 , Dongya Yuan 1, 2, 3 1 Key Laboratory of Molecular Mechanism and Intervention Research for Plateau Diseases of Tibet Autonomous Region, School of Medicine, Xizang Minzu University, Xianyang, Shaanxi 712082, China 2 Key Laboratory of High Altitude Environment and Genes Related to Diseases of Tibet Autonomous Region, School of Medicine, Xizang Minzu University, Xianyang, Shaanxi 712082, China 3 Key Laboratory for Basic Life Science Research of Tibet Autonomous Region, School of Medicine, Xizang Minzu University, Xianyang, Shaanxi 712082, China 4 Xi’an Tiangen Precision Medical Institute, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710075, China 5 Department of Maternity care, Xi’an Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710002, China 6 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Second Affiliated Hospital, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710004, China 7 Clinic of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Hainan Provincial People’s Hospital, Haikou, 570102, China * Joint first authors Correspondence to: Shan Bao, email: shanbaohainan@163.com Dongya Yuan, email: yuandongyaXZ@163.com Keywords: cervical cancer, case-control studies, miR-17-5p, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) Received: July 25, 2016      Accepted: August 30, 2016      Published: September 28, 2016 ABSTRACT MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are key regulators of gene expression; however, the extent to which single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) interfere with miRNA gene regulation and affect cervical cancer (CC) susceptibility remains largely unknown. Here, we systematically analyzed miRNA-related SNPs and their association with CC risk, and performed a case-control study of miR-17-5p SNPs and CC risk in a Chinese population. Sixteen SNPs were genotyped in 247 CC cases and 285 controls. Three were associated with CC risk ( p < 0.05): the minor allele (A) of rs217727 in H19 increased risk (OR = 1.53, p = 0.002), while the minor alleles (T) of rs9931702 and (T) of rs9302648 in AKTIP decreased CC risk ( p = 0.018, p = 0.014). Analysis of the SNPs after stratification based on CC clinical stage and subtype revealed that rs1048512, rs6659346, rs217727, rs9931702, and rs9302648 were associated with CC risk in clinical stages I-II; rs2862833, rs2732044, rs1030389, and rs1045935 were associated with CC risk in clinical stages III-IV; and rs217727, rs9931702, and rs9302648 were associated with CC risk in squamous carcinomas. These data could serve as a useful resource for understanding the miR-17 function, identification of miRNAs associated with CC, and development of better CC screening strategies.