Abstract
BackgroundMayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome is a rare syndrome that is characterized by congenital aplasia of the uterus and the upper portion (2/3) of the vagina. Previous attempts to identify causal mutations of MRKH syndrome have primarily resulted in negative outcomes. We investigated whether these reported variants are associated with MRKH syndrome (types I and II) in a relatively large sample size of Chinese Han patients, and whether any gene-gene epistatic interactions exist among these variants.MethodsThis study included 182 unrelated Chinese women with MRKH syndrome (155 with type I and 27 with type II) and 228 randomized female controls. Seventeen candidate loci in the AMH, PBX1, WNT4, WNT7A, WNT9B, HOXA10, HOXA11, LHXA1 and GALT genes were genotyped using the Sequenom MassARRAY iPLEX platform. Single-marker association, additive effects and multifactor interactions were investigated.ResultsThe gene frequency distributions of MRKH type 1 and type 2 were similar. Rs34072914 in WNT9B was found to be associated with MRKH syndrome (P = 0.024, OR = 2.65, 95%CI = 1.14–6.17). The dominant models of rs34072914 and rs2275558 in WNT9B and PBX1, respectively, were significantly associated with MRKH syndrome risk in the Chinese Han patients. Additive gene-gene interaction analyses indicated a significant synergetic interaction between WNT9B and PBX1 (RERI = 1.397, AP = 0.493, SI = 4.204). Multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) analysis revealed novel dimensional epistatic four-gene effects (AMH, PBX1, WNT7A and WNT9B) in MRKH syndrome.ConclusionsThis association study successfully identified two susceptibility SNPs (WNT9B and PBX1) associated with MRKH syndrome risk, both separately and interactively. The discovery of a four-gene epistatic effect (AMH, PBX1, WNT7A and WNT9B) in MRKH syndrome provides novel information for the elucidation of the genetic mechanism underlying the etiology of MRKH syndrome.
Highlights
Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome (MIM 277000) is a congenital malformation of the female reproductive system that is characterized by agenesis of the Müllerian structures
We investigated whether these reported variants are associated with MRKH syndrome in a relatively large sample size of Chinese Han patients, and whether any gene-gene epistatic interactions exist among these variants
Rs34072914 in WNT9B was found to be associated with MRKH syndrome (P = 0.024, OR = 2.65, 95%CI = 1.14–6.17)
Summary
Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome (MIM 277000) is a congenital malformation of the female reproductive system that is characterized by agenesis of the Müllerian structures. The principal feature of MRKH syndrome is the absence of the uterus and the upper portion (2/3) of the vagina. Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome is a rare syndrome that is characterized by congenital aplasia of the uterus and the upper portion (2/3) of the vagina. Previous attempts to identify causal mutations of MRKH syndrome have primarily resulted in negative outcomes. We investigated whether these reported variants are associated with MRKH syndrome (types I and II) in a relatively large sample size of Chinese Han patients, and whether any gene-gene epistatic interactions exist among these variants
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