Functional miR29a gene polymorphism enhanced the risk of chronic kidney disease in an Iranian population: A preliminary case-control study and bioinformatics analyses

Abstract

BackgroundChronic kidney disease (CKD) is a global challenge that clusters within families. MicroRNAs have been introduced as candidate markers in predisposition to CKD, but the underlying mechanism has remained mostly unknown. The current preliminary study was designed to examine the effects of rs157907A/G, a functional variant located in the miR29a gene, on the risk of CKD in a population of Iranian ancestry. MethodsThree hundred forty unrelated Iranian subjects were enrolled between June 2019 and February 2020. Genotyping was performed using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism(PCR-RFLP)method. Bioinformatics tools were utilized to determine the potential effects of the variant. ResultsOur finding demonstrated that the presence of the G allele of rs157907A/G increased the risk of CKD by 1.50 fold. Also, enhanced risk of CKD was observed under codominant AG (OR = 1.86 95%CI = 1.16–2.96, p = 0.01), codominant GG (OR = 2.82 95%CI = 1.11–7.14, p = 0.02), dominant AG + GG vs. AA (OR = 1.93 95%CI = 1.22–3.06, p = 0.01) and overdominant AG + GG vs. AG (OR = 1.57 95%CI = 1.01–2.43, p = 0.04) contrasted genetic models. However, no significant association was noticed between genotypes and CKD stages (p = 0.59). Results of bioinformatics analysis indicated that miR29a structure is more stable in the presence of the G allele compared to A allele in the position of the variation. ConclusionThe findings of our study highlight the possible impact of a functionalmiR-29avariant in the pathophysiology of CKD. Identifying such SNPs will pave the way for the diagnosis and treatment of CKD, especially in advance stages.