The study of association between reduced folate carrier 1 (RFC1) polymorphism and non-syndromic cleft lip/palate in Iranian population

Increased susceptibility for nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate by SLC19A1 80G>A genetic variation

BACKGROUND

The disruption of craniofacial developmental pathways during early embryogenesis can lead to conditions such as nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCL/P). Several lines of evidence indicate that inadequate maternal nutrition causes low folate levels during the periconceptional period, resulting in NSCL/P. Although substantial research has been conducted on the possible link between SLC19A1 genetic variants and NSCL/P, the association between SLC19A1 80G>A (rs1051266) and NSCL/P remains unclear. In the present study, the associations of SLC19A1 80G>A with NSCL/P risk were assessed by calculating the pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) by meta-analyses.

METHODS

Following the PRISMA guidelines, a meta-analysis was conducted on 10 studies assessing the NSCL/P risk associated with SLC19A1 80G>A variant. To ascertain the degree of relationship between the SLC19A1 80G>A genetic variant and the risk of NSCL/P, data were analyzed in allelic, recessive and dominant genetic models. CI of OR for each study and the pooled data were obtained. All statistical analyses were conducted utilizing the MetaGenyo software tool, which integrates the adjustment of P values for multiple testing through the Bonferroni method.

RESULTS

The pooled analysis showed that SLC19A1 80G>A variant significantly increased the NSCL/P risk in the allelic model (OR 1.39; 95% CI 1.00-1.92), recessive model (OR 1.37; 95% CI 1.03-1.82) and dominant models (OR 1.7; 95% CI 1.05-2.90). Publication bias was not observed.

CONCLUSIONS

This study supports that the SLC19A1 80G>A genetic variant is associated with NSCL/P risk.

Association of MMP2 and MMP9 gene polymorphisms with nonsyndromic cleft lip/palate in an Iranian population

Background

Cleft lip/palate (CL/P) is a prevalent congenital disorder. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play a role in palatogenesis and have been proposed to be associated with nonsyndromic CL/P development. This study aimed to examine the association of MMP2 (rs243866) and MMP9 (rs3918242) gene polymorphism with nonsyndromic CL/P in an Iranian population.

Methods

Blood samples were collected from 120 nonsyndromic CL/P patients and 140 healthy newborns in this case-control study. DNA extraction was performed by the salting-out method, and the samples underwent polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), using Pag and SphI enzymes, for genotyping MMP2 and MMP9 gene polymorphisms. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS 11.5. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to calculate the odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The level of statistical significance was set at P<0.05.

Results

No significant association was found between MMP2 gene polymorphism and nonsyndromic CL/P. However, the MMP9 gene polymorphism had a significant association with nonsyndromic CL/P, with a higher prevalence of the T allele and TT genotype in the case group than the control group.

Conclusion

This study indicated a potential link between MMP9 gene polymorphism and nonsyndromic CL/P in an Iranian population. Future investigations with greater sample diversity and larger sample sizes are required to obtain more comprehensive and robust evidence. In-depth analyses and studies involving different ethnic groups can further enhance our understanding of the genetic underpinnings of CL/P.

Polymorphisms in Maternal Selected Folate Metabolism-Related Genes in Neural Tube Defect-Affected Pregnancy

Background

Neural tube defects (NTDs) are abnormalities of the brain and spinal cord, which occur as a result of failure in neural tube closure during embryogenesis. Causes of NTDs are complex and multiple, with hereditary, lifestyle, and environmental factors appearing to play a role. In spite of their impact on public health, the role genetics play on NTDs in Ethiopia is lacking. In this study, the role of polymorphisms in MTHFR 677C > T (rs1801133), MTHFR 1298A > C (rs1801131), MTRR 66A > G (rs1801394), RFC1 80A > G (rs1051266), and TCN2 776C > G (rs1801198) on the risk of having NTD-affected pregnancy was investigated.

Materials and Methods

One hundred women with NTD-affected pregnancy and 100 women with normal pregnancy were included in the study. DNA was extracted from saliva and genotyping for five polymorphisms in four genes was analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). The departure of the genotype's distribution from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) was evaluated using the x2 goodness-of-fit test. Frequencies of genotypes and alleles in case and control mothers were determined and differences between relative frequencies were evaluated by the x2 or the Fisher's exact test.

Results

The statistically significant difference was absent in the genotype and allele frequencies for all the analyzed polymorphisms between cases and controls (P > 0.05).

Conclusion

MTHFR 677C > T, MTHFR 1298A > C, MTRR 66A > G, RFC1 80A > G, and TCN2 776C > G polymorphisms lack association with the risk of having a pregnancy affected by NTD. The role of other genes or environmental factors in NTD etiology needs to be investigated.

Association between PTCH1 and RAD54B Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms and Non-syndromic Orofacial Clefts in the Northeast Population of Iran

Background

Non-Syndromic Cleft Lip with or without cleft Palate (NSCL/P) is a common developmental disorder of the head and neck with a multifactorial etiology. The current study aimed to evaluate the potential association of PTCH1 (rs10512248) and RAD54B (rs12681366) polymorphisms with NSCL/P in the Northeast Iranian population.

Methods

In the present study, blood samples were taken from 122 subjects with NSCL/P and 161 healthy controls. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) followed by Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) were used to conduct genotyping of single-nucleotide polymorphisms.

Results

Although differences were observed between cases and controls in rs10512248 and rs12681366, our data did not support a significant association of these polymorphisms with NSCL/P in our population.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that polymorphisms of rs10512248 and rs12681366 may not be potential risk factors for NSCL/P in the Northeast Iranian population due to the multifactorial and multiethnicity characteristics of some genes.

Association of maternal folate use and reduced folate carrier gene polymorphisms with the risk of congenital heart disease in offspring

Although it is generally recognized that genetic and environmental factors are associated with the risk of congenital heart disease (CHD), the mechanism remains largely uncertain. This study aimed to investigate the association of maternal folate use, the time when folate use was started, and polymorphisms of the reduced folate carrier (RFC1) gene with the risk of CHD in offspring of Chinese descent, which can help provide new insight into the etiology of folate-related birth defects. A case-control study of 683 mothers of CHD patients and 740 mothers of healthy children was performed. The present study showed that mothers who did not use folate were at a significantly increased risk of CHD (OR=2.04; 95% CI: 1.42-2.93). When compared with those who started using folate prior to conception, mothers who started using folate from the first trimester of pregnancy (OR=1.90; 95% CI: 1.43-2.54) or from the second trimester of pregnancy (OR=8.92; 95% CI: 4.20-18.97) had a significantly higher risk of CHD. Maternal RFC1 gene polymorphisms at rs2236484 (AG vs AA: OR=1.79 [95% CI: 1.33-2.39]; GG vs AA: OR=1.64 [95% CI: 1.15-2.35]) and rs2330183 (CT vs CC: OR=1.54 [95% CI: 1.14-2.09]) were also significantly associated with CHD risk. Additionally, the risk of CHD was significantly decreased among mothers who had variant genotypes but used folate when compared with those who had variant genotypes and did not use folate.Conclusion: In those of Chinese descent, maternal folate use and the time when use started are significantly associated with the risk of CHD in offspring. Furthermore, maternal folate supplementation may help to offset some of the risks of CHD in offspring due to maternal RFC1 genetic variants. What is Known: • Folate use could help prevent CHD, but the relationship between the time when folate use is started and CHD has not received sufficient attention. • Studies have assessed the associations of folate metabolism-related genes with CHD, but genes involved in cellular transportation of folate, such as the RFC1 gene, have not garnered enough attention. What is New: • In those of Chinese descents, the time when folate use is started is significantly associated with the risk of CHD in offspring. • Maternal RFC1 polymorphisms were significantly associated with the risk of CHD. • Folate supplementation may help to offset some risks of CHD due to RFC1 genetic variants.

[Association between maternal reduced folate carrier gene polymorphisms and congenital heart disease in offspring: a case-control study]

OBJECTIVE

To study the association between maternal reduced folate carrier (RFC) gene polymorphisms and congenital heart disease (CHD) in offspring.

METHODS

A hospital-based case-control study was conducted. The mothers of 683 infants with CHD who attended the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Hunan Children's Hospital, from November 2017 to March 2020 were enrolled as the case group. The mothers of 740 healthy infants without any deformity who attended the hospital during the same period of time were enrolled as the control group. A questionnaire survey was performed to collect the exposure data of subjects. Venous blood samples of 5 mL were collected from the mothers for genetic polymorphism detection. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association of RFC gene polymorphisms and their haplotypes with CHD. A generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction method was used to analyze gene-gene interactions.

RESULTS

After control for confounding factors, the multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that maternal RFC gene polymorphisms at rs2236484 (AG vs AA:OR=1.91, 95%CI:1.45-2.51; GG vs AA: OR=1.96, 95%CI:1.40-2.75) and rs2330183 (CT vs CC:OR=1.39, 95%CI:1.06-1.83) were significantly associated with the risk of CHD in offspring. The haplotypes of G-G (OR=1.21, 95%CI:1.03-1.41) and T-G (OR=1.25, 95%CI:1.07-1.46) in mothers significantly increased the risk of CHD in offspring. The interaction analysis showed significant gene-gene interactions between different SNPs of the RFC gene in CHD (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Maternal RFC gene polymorphisms and interactions between different SNPs are significantly associated with the risk of CHD in offspring.

[Association between maternal reduced folate carrier gene polymorphisms and congenital heart disease in offspring: a case-control study]

OBJECTIVE

To study the association between maternal reduced folate carrier (RFC) gene polymorphisms and congenital heart disease (CHD) in offspring.

METHODS

A hospital-based case-control study was conducted. The mothers of 683 infants with CHD who attended the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Hunan Children's Hospital, from November 2017 to March 2020 were enrolled as the case group. The mothers of 740 healthy infants without any deformity who attended the hospital during the same period of time were enrolled as the control group. A questionnaire survey was performed to collect the exposure data of subjects. Venous blood samples of 5 mL were collected from the mothers for genetic polymorphism detection. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association of RFC gene polymorphisms and their haplotypes with CHD. A generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction method was used to analyze gene-gene interactions.

RESULTS

After control for confounding factors, the multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that maternal RFC gene polymorphisms at rs2236484 (AG vs AA:OR=1.91, 95%CI:1.45-2.51; GG vs AA: OR=1.96, 95%CI:1.40-2.75) and rs2330183 (CT vs CC:OR=1.39, 95%CI:1.06-1.83) were significantly associated with the risk of CHD in offspring. The haplotypes of G-G (OR=1.21, 95%CI:1.03-1.41) and T-G (OR=1.25, 95%CI:1.07-1.46) in mothers significantly increased the risk of CHD in offspring. The interaction analysis showed significant gene-gene interactions between different SNPs of the RFC gene in CHD (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Maternal RFC gene polymorphisms and interactions between different SNPs are significantly associated with the risk of CHD in offspring.

Genetics and signaling mechanisms of orofacial clefts

Craniofacial development involves several complex tissue movements including several fusion processes to form the frontonasal and maxillary structures, including the upper lip and palate. Each of these movements are controlled by many different factors that are tightly regulated by several integral morphogenetic signaling pathways. Subject to both genetic and environmental influences, interruption at nearly any stage can disrupt lip, nasal, or palate fusion and result in a cleft. Here, we discuss many of the genetic risk factors that may contribute to the presentation of orofacial clefts in patients, and several of the key signaling pathways and underlying cellular mechanisms that control lip and palate formation, as identified primarily through investigating equivalent processes in animal models, are examined.

Up-regulation of RNA Binding Proteins Contributes to Folate Deficiency-Induced Neural Crest Cells Dysfunction

Folate deficiency has long been associated with the abnormal development of the neural crest cells (NCCs) and neural tube defects (NTDs). RNA binding proteins (RBPs) also play important roles in the normal neural crest development and neural tube formation. Nevertheless, the causative mechanism by which folate status influences human NCCs development and the RBPs functions remains unknown. In this study, we differentiated H9 human embryonic stem cells into neural crest cells (H9-NCCs) and then constructed three folic acid (FA) deficiency (FAD) H9-NCCs models in vitro. Decreased viability, impaired migration and promoted apoptosis of H9-NCCs were observed in three FAD H9-NCCs models. In addition, we showed that three RBPs, namely, hnRNPC, LARP6 and RCAN2, were up-regulated both in the FAD H9-NCC models in vitro and in the FAD mouse model in vivo. Knocking down of these three RBPs increased the H9-NCC viability and RCAN2 knockdown further promoted H9-NCC migration under FAD conditions. In normal culture condition, overexpression of RCAN2 and HnRNPC did not affect viabilities and migration of H9-NCCs while overexpression of LARP6 reduced the H9-NCC viability. Our findings demonstrate important regulatory effects of RBPs underlying FAD-induced impaired function of NCCs.

Association between RFC1 A80G polymorphism and the susceptibility to nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate: a meta-analysis

Background

Reduced folate carrier 1 (RFC1) gene is a candidate for susceptibility to nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCL/P). Association between RFC1 A80G polymorphism and NSCL/P have been studied. The published results are conflicting.

Methods

A meta-analysis of the association between RFC1 A80G polymorphism and NSCL/P was carried out using Stata13.0. A systematic literature search was performed through the PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, EBSCOhost, China Biology Medicine databases, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and the Wanfang databases. All relevant studies up to 9 September 2019 were identified.

Results

Nine case-control studies including 4,229 total participants (1,334 NSCL/P children, 1,515 healthy children, 656 mothers of the NSCL/P children, and 724 mothers of healthy control children) were included in this study. The meta-analysis revealed that two genetic models of RFC1 A80G polymorphism in NSCL/P children increased risk of NSCL/P: the homozygote model (GG vs. AA, OR =2.346, 95% CI: 1.127-4.884) and the recessive model (GG vs. AG + AA, OR =1.503, 95% CI: 1.049-2.152). Further sensitivity analysis indicated that the frequency of G allele and GG genotype in NSCL/P children was significantly higher than those in the control. However, there was no significant statistical differences after Bonferroni correction. Subgroup analyses indicated the presence of the association of all the model with NSCL/P risk in the Indian children. RFC1 A80G polymorphism in the maternal population of NSCL/P children was not significantly associated with children NSCL/P.

Conclusions

The RFC1 A80G polymorphism was a candidate for susceptibility to NSCL/P in the Indian pediatric population. More studies with larger samples are necessary to reach more conclusive outcomes.

Polymorphic Variants of V-Maf Musculoaponeurotic Fibrosarcoma Oncogene Homolog B (rs13041247 and rs11696257) and Risk of Non-Syndromic Cleft Lip/Palate: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Non-syndromic cleft lip/palate (NSCL/P) has an etiology, including both genetic and environmental factors. Herein, we evaluated the association of rs13041247 and rs11696257 v-maf musculoaponeurotic fibrosarcoma oncogene homolog B (MAFB) polymorphisms with the risk of NSCL/P in a meta-analysis. Methods: The PubMed/Medline, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and HuGE Navigator databases were systematically searched to retrieve relevant articles published up to January 2019. The Newcastle–Ottawa scale was applied for quality evaluation of retrieved articles. The 95% confidence interval (CI) and crude odds ratio (OR) were calculated for each study using the Review Manager 5.3 software to show the association between MAFB polymorphisms and risk of NSCL/P. The comprehensive meta-analysis 2.0 software was used to calculate the publication bias. In addition, sensitivity analysis was carried out to show the stability of results. Results: Of 102 articles retrieved from the databases, 10 articles were analyzed in this meta-analysis. Ten articles, including eleven studies reporting rs13041247 MAFB polymorphism, included 3082 NSCL/P patients and 4104 controls. Three studies that reported rs11696257 MAFB polymorphism involved 845 NSCL/P patients and 927 controls. The rs11696257 MAFB polymorphism was not associated with the risk of NSCL/P, but the CC and TC genotypes of rs13041247 polymorphism were associated with the risk of NSCL/P. Nevertheless, the C allele and CC and TC genotypes were associated with a significant decline in the risk of NSCL/P in population-based studies. Conclusions: The results of this meta-analysis demonstrated that the risk of NSCL/P was related to rs13041247 polymorphism, not rs11696257 MAFB polymorphism. Well-designed studies are required to assess the interaction of MAFB and other genes with environmental factors in different ethnic groups.

A systematic review and meta-analysis on protective role of forkhead box E1 (FOXE1) polymorphisms in susceptibility to non-syndromic cleft lip/palate

INTRODUCTION

Several environmental and genetic factors have a role in the aetiology of non-syndromic cleft lip/palate (NSCL/P). This meta-analysis evaluated the association of rs3758249 and rs4460498 forkhead box E1 (FOXE1) polymorphisms with the NSCL/P risk.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The Scopus, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and PubMed databases were searched for articles published until March 2019. The analyses were performed by Review Manager 5.3 using the crude odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for a strong association between FOXE1 polymorphisms and the risk of NSCL/P.

RESULTS

Out of 161 articles retrieved from the databases, four case-control articles were involved in the meta-analysis. The pooled ORs of rs4460498 polymorphism based on allelic, homozygous, heterozygous, dominant, and recessive models were 0.74 (95% CI: 0.69, 0.80; P<0.00001), 0.43 (95% CI: 0.30, 0.61; P<0.00001), 0.66 (95% CI: 0.55, 0.80; P<0.0001), 0.66 (95% CI: 0.59, 0.73; P<0.00001), and 0.70 (95% CI: 0.60, 0.82; P<0.0001), respectively; whereas, the pooled OR of rs3758249 polymorphism were 0.86 (95% CI: 0.71, 1.04; P=0.12), 0.68 (95% CI: 0.57, 0.82; P<0.0001), 0.79 (95% CI: 0.57, 1.09; P=0.15), 0.79 (95% CI: 0.58, 1.08; P=0.14), and 0.80 (95% CI: 0.68, 0.95; P=0.010) for the afore-mentioned models, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The results showed that the T allele, TT, and CT genotypes of rs4460498 polymorphism were significantly associated with a decreased risk of NSCL/P; whereas, for rs3758249 polymorphism, only the AA genotype had a significant protective role in NSCL/P. Thus, FOXE1 is strongly associated with NSCL/P in the populations.