Abstract 4586: Association of FUT2 gene variant, gut bacteria and colorectal adenomas

Abstract

Abstract The fucosyltransferase 2 (FUT2) gene is responsible for the expression of the ABO blood group antigens. These antigens serve as anchors for a variety of microbes in the gut and may confer increased susceptibility to microbial infections and diseases. We assessed the association between a genetic variant in the FUT2 gene (rs516246) and mucosal-adherent gut bacteria in relation to colorectal adenomas. Genomic DNA from 200 consented screening colonoscopy subjects was genotyped for FUT2 rs516246 using a TaqMan genotyping assay. qPCR was performed to target the 16S rRNA gene for specific bacteria. Statistical analysis included t-test, logistic regression Chi-squared tests and Spearman's correlation test. Results show that, except for age and waist-hip ratio, patient characteristics were similar for cases and controls. Higher abundance of E. coli and Eubacteria was associated with adenoma status. There was a null association between FUT2 genotype and adenomas. Similarly, gut bacteria and adenoma status was not strongly influenced by FUT2 genotype. In conclusion: the FUT2 (rs516246) gene variant does not appear to influence the relationship between gut bacteria and colorectal adenomas. Citation Format: Winifred Okunola, Amber McCoy, Santosh Dulal, Temitope O. Keku. Association of FUT2 gene variant, gut bacteria and colorectal adenomas. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 4586. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-4586