Association of soluble epoxide hydrolase 2 gene with the risk of non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate in western Han Chinese population.

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the associations between soluble epoxide hydrolase 2 gene (EPHX2) variants and non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCL/P) in Chinese Han population. We recruited 159 NSCL/P cases from Chinese Han population and carried out targeted resequencing using the whole genome sequencing data of 542 healthy Chinese individuals from Novegene internal database as controls. We classified EPHX2 variants as common or rare according to their minor allele frequency and performed an association analysis for common variations and a burden analysis for rare variations. The lowest P-value in NSCL/P was observed at rs57699806 (P=0.000 13, OR=2.849 and 95% CI: 1.691-4.800), followed by rs4732723 (P=0.006 50, OR=0.662 and 95%CI: 0.491-0.892), rs7829267 (P=0.009 20, OR=1.496 and 95%CI: 1.117-2.005), rs721619 (P=0.011 00, OR=1.474 and 95%CI: 1.098-1.980), and rs7816586 (P=0.040 00, OR=1.310 and 95%CI: 1.015-1.691). The odds ratios suggested the C allele at rs4732723 as a protective factor for NSCL/P and the reference alleles at other single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as the risk factors for NSCL/P. Burden analysis showed no statistical significance (P>0.05). Through targeted resequencing, this study identified five SNPs named rs57699806, rs4732723, rs7829267, rs721619, and rs7816586 around the region of EPHX2 gene associated with NSCL/P in Chinese Han population. Four SNPs of rs57699806, rs4732723, rs7829267, and rs7816586 were first identified.