An Exploration of ABCG2 and SLC2A9 Gene Interactions with Gout

Abstract

Background: Currently, there is no systematic analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the urate transporter genes (ABCG2 and SLC2A9), and the influence of their combination and gene-gene (G×G) interactions on gout is still unknown in the Thai population. Objective: To investigate the interaction between ABCG2 and SLC2A9 with gout. Materials and Methods: A matched case-control study with 116 Thai adults (58 gout patients and 58 control subjects) was done. Genotyping using a TaqMan SNP Genotyping Assays was performed. G×G interactions for gout risk were analyzed using an interaction analysis in multiple conditional logistic regression. Results: The results show that the rs2231142 (G/T+T/T) variants in ABCG2 was associated with gout. On the contrary, the rs2280205 (G/A+A/A) and rs6820230 (C/T–T/T) variant in SLC2A9 were not associated with gout. The result indicated that the participants carrying ABCG2 variant with SLC2A9 wild-type (i.e., original base pairs) had a significant association with gout. The present study results also revealed that epistatic interaction pairs (rs2231142:rs6820230 and rs2231142:rs2280205) were strongly associated with gout. Conclusion: The authors concluded that the ABCG2 and SLC2A9 interactions were a significant association with gout. The stronger combined effect of SNPs in the ABCG2 and SLC2A9 genes via G×G interaction may help to predict gout risk and its prognosis. However, further studies with larger sample sizes should be performed to confirm these results. Keywords: Gene-gene interactions, Gout, ABCG2 gene, SLC2A9 gene