Association between MEG3 polymorphisms (rs941576 and rs7158663) and risk of acute ischemic stroke in Egyptian patients

Abstract

BackgroundAcute ischemic stroke (AIS) is a chief cause of mortality and debility worldwide. Maternally expressed gene 3 (MEG3), is highly expressed in brain and was found to be upregulated after AIS. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in MEG3 have been associated with various diseases. The current study aimed to detect whether MEG3 SNPs, rs941576 and rs7158663, are associated with AIS risk in Egyptians. Subjects and methodssamples were withdrawn from Egyptian subjects, 177 AIS patients and 73 controls, and genomic DNA was extracted to perform genotyping for rs941576 and rs7158663 using TaqMan Assays. ResultsA significantly higher risk of AIS was associated with rs941576 GG genotype before and after adjusting to age, gender, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus in the co-dominant (GG vs. AA: adjusted OR = 18.94, 95% CI: 2.38–50.52, P = 0.021) and dominant models (GG vs. AG + AA: adjusted OR = 18.095, 95% CI: 2.32–41.00, P = 0.006) and with G allele (G vs. A: adjusted OR = 2.20, 95% CI: 1.31–3.64, P = 0.003). Combined genotypes rs941576/rs7158663: AA/GG and GG/AA, in the co-dominant model, and GG/AG + AA, in the dominant model, were significantly more frequent in AIS than in control, 7.9% vs. 1.4%,11.3% vs 0% and 16.9% vs 1.4%, respectively. Furthermore, logistic regression analysis identified hypertension (OR (95%CI) = 7.48(2.64–21.22), P < 0.001), TC (OR (95 CI) = 1.02(1.01–1.03), P = 0.003), HDL-C (OR (95%CI) = 0.84 (0.80–0.89), P < 0.001) and rs941576 GG/AA genotype (OR (95%CI) = 15.57(1.65–146.82), P = 0.02) as independent factors of AIS. ConclusionThe association between MEG3 rs941576, and AIS risk suggests that it may act as potential risk factor for AIS and be used in AIS prognosis in the future.