title: A genetic variant in microRNA target site of TGF-β signaling pathway increases the risk of colorectal cancer in a Chinese population.
abstract: Evidence shows that single-nucleotide polymorphisms in microRNA (miRNA) target sites can create, destroy, or modify the miRNA/mRNA binding, therefore modulating gene expression and affecting cancer susceptibility. The transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling pathway plays a pivotal role in tumor initiation and progression. Intriguingly, recent advances of genome-wide association studies have identified multiple risk loci in this pathway to be associated with risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). To test the hypothesis that genetic variants in miRNA target sites in genes of the TGF-β signaling pathway may also be associated with CRC risk, we first systematically scanned the single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes of TGF-β signaling pathway which potentially affect the miRNA/mRNA bindings. Through a series of filters, we narrowed down these candidates to four SNPs. Then, we conducted a case-control study with 600 CRC patients and 638 controls in Han Chinese population. We observed that compared with A carriers (AA + AG), the GG genotype of rs12997:ACVR1 is associated with a significantly higher risk of CRC (OR = 1.52, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 1.04-2.21, P = 0.031), particularly in nonsmokers with a higher OR of 1.63 (95% CI = 1.04-2.55, P = 0.032). Our study suggested that SNPs in miRNA target sites could contribute to the likelihood of CRC susceptibility and emphasized the important role of polymorphisms at miRNA-regulatory elements in carcinogenesis.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Environment Health (Incubation), Ministry of Education (MOE) Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environment and Health (Wuhan), Wuhan, Hubei, 430030, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Na
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Hong-Mei
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Xiaoping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Miao
authors.forename: An-Yuan
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Guo
mesh_terms: D030201:Activin Receptors, Type I / Q000235:genetics; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; C425423:ACVR1 protein, human; D030201:Activin Receptors, Type I