title: A genetic variant in miR-146a modifies colorectal cancer susceptibility in a Chinese population.
abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a family of endogenous, small, noncoding RNA molecules that involved in a wide range of biological processes including differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis. A polymorphism G>C (rs2910164) is located in the stem region opposite to the mature miR-146a sequence. In our study, we investigated whether rs2910164 is associated with the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) in a Chinese population. We genotyped the rs2910164 polymorphism using TaqMan method and evaluated the association with CRC risk in a case-control study, including 1,147 CRC patients and 1,203 cancer-free controls. Logistic regression models were used to assess the genetic effects on the development of CRC. Overall, we found that rs2910164 was significantly associated with the reduced CRC risk [GC/CC versus GG: adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 0.78, 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) = 0.66-0.93]. In the stratification analysis, this decreased risk was also pronounced among non-smokers (0.75, 0.61-0.93), non-drinkers (0.77, 0.63-0.94), and no family history of cancer (0.79, 0.65-0.95). Furthermore, GC/CC genotypes were associated with reduced CRC susceptibility in intermediate differentiated CRC (0.75, 0.62-0.90), and similar effect was observed in patients with the advanced stage tumor (Dukes C and D) (0.76, 0.61-0.93). In conclusion, our results suggest that miR-146a rs2910164 may contribute to the susceptibility to CRC in a Chinese population. Further larger population-based prospective and functional studies are needed to validate our findings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetic Toxicology, The Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Lan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Lingjun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Dongying
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: Haiyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.forename: Na
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.forename: Jinfei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Zhengdong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Meilin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: C542542:MIRN146 microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs