Study of Galectin-3 gene a allele as a genetic predisposition factor for skull base chordoma

Abstract

Objective To investigate the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms in Galectin -3 gene and the susceptibility of skull base chordomas in Chinese.Methods Two candidate genetic variants (rs4644 and rs4652) in Galectin-3 gene were chosen based on the previous study.The distribution of genotype and allele were investigated in 51 patients with skull base chordomas and 102 healthy subjects.The genomic DNA was prepared from peripheral blood leukocytes of the subjects.Polymerase chain reaction and the following sequencing were performed for genotyping.Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS software (IBM SPSS Statistics Version 20).Results There was significant difference for the distribution of genotypes in SNP rs4652 between the cases and control subjects (P =0.046).Through the stratification of gender,there was significant difference for the distribution of genotypes in SNP rs4652 between cases and control subjects in female (additive model,CC/AC/AA,P =0.020 ; dominant model,CC + AC/AA,P =0.009).Subjects with CC and AC genotypes were more susceptible to skull base chordomas (OR =4.5;95％ CI =1.365-14.833).There was no difference in the distribution of genotypes and alleles at galectin-3 gene rs4644 between cases and control subjects (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions The SNP rs4652 in Galectin-3 gcnc might be associated with the susceptibility of skull base chordomas in female.In female,persons carrying CC or AC genotype might have an increased risk for skull base chordomas. Key words: Skull base; Chordoma; Galectin-3 ; Single nucleotide polymorphisms