Analysis of microRNA 146a gene polymorphism and effect on ovarian epithelial oncogenesis

Abstract

Objective To analyze the association between microRNA 146a (miR-146a) gene polymorphism rs2910164 (G/C) and likelihood of ovarian epithelial tumorigenesis. Methods Under a case-control study, we selected 184 patients with ovarian epithelial tumor as the case group and 200 people without ovarian epithelial tumor as the control group. By sequencing both case and control group genes, the genotypes at the polymorphism of miR-146a gene were identified. Polymorphism was further characterized by association with different factors including age, length of menstrual cycle, parity, oral contraception and family history. Results Both study group and control group have 3 types of genotypes GG、GC and CC, and they showed significant differences in the distribution of genotypes at rs2910164 (G/C) of miR-146a gene (P=0.002). Carriers of the GG and GC genotypes at the rs2910164(G/C) site showed lower risk for ovarian epithelial oncogenesis than the carriers of the CC genotype (OR=0.396, 95%CI=0.219~0.717, P=0.002; OR=0.502, 95%CI=0.308~ 0.818, P=0.006). Stratified analysis showed that this effect was significant in subjects younger than 50 years, parity less than two, no oral contraception use and those without a history of ovarian epithelial tumor, and P values from χ2 test are 0.001, 0.000, 0.001 and 0.001 respectively. Conclusion MiR-146a gene polymorphism rs2910164 (G/C) has a statistically significant association with the susceptibility of ovarian epithelial oncogenesis. Carriers of the GG genotypes and the GC genotypes at rs2910164(G/C)site showed lower risk of ovarian epithelial tumorigenesis than the carriers of the CC genotypes. Key words: MicroRNA 146a; Ovarian epithelial tumor; Single nucleotide polymorphism