Los polimorfismos de nucleótido único y los haplotipos de la región 3’UTR del gen GATA4 contribuyen al riesgo genético de cardiopatía congénita

Abstract

Introduction and objectivesSingle-nucleotide polymorphisms within a microRNA binding site can have different effects on gene expression, influencing the risk of disease. This study aimed to evaluate the association between single-nucleotide polymorphisms and haplotypes in the 3’UTR of the GATA4 gene and congenital heart disease risk. MethodsBioinformatics algorithms were used to analyze single-nucleotide polymorphisms in putative microRNA-binding sites of GATA4 3’UTR and to calculate the difference in free energy of hybridization (ΔFE, kcal/mol) for each wild-type vs the variant allele. ResultsThe study population comprised 146 Caucasian patients (73 males; 6.68 ± 7.79 years) and a 265 healthy newborn participants (147 males). The sum of all |ΔFE| was considered to predict the biological importance of single-nucleotide polymorphisms binding more microRNAs. Next, the 4 polymorphisms (+1158 C > T, +1256 A > T, +1355 G > A, +1521 C > G) with the highest predicted |ΔFEtot| (9.91, 14.85, 11.03, 21.66 kcal/mol, respectively) were genotyped in a case-control study (146 patients and 250 controls). Applying a correction for multiple testing only the +1158 T allele was found to be associated with a reduced risk showing significant difference between patients and controls. Haplotype analysis showed that the T-T-G-C haplotype (more uncommon in congenital heart diseases than in controls) was associated with a significantly decreased risk (P = .03), while the rare C-A-A-C haplotype, which was very uncommon in controls (0.3%) compared with the disease (2.4%), was associated with a 4-fold increased risk of disease (P = .04). ConclusionsCommon variants in 3’UTR of the GATA4 gene jointly interact, affecting the congenital heart disease susceptibility, probably by altering microRNA posttranscriptional regulation.Full English text available from: www.revespcardiol.org/en