Genetic Polymorphisms in microRNA Genes Targeting PI3K/Akt Signal Pathway Modulate Cervical Cancer Susceptibility in a Chinese Population

Polymorphisms in miRNA Genes Targeting the AMPK Signaling Pathway are Associated with Cervical Cancer Susceptibility in a Han Chinese Population

Purpose

Cervical cancer (CC) poses a significant threat to women's health worldwide, and multiple signaling pathways have been confirmed to be involved in its development. The AMPK signaling pathway plays a central role in maintaining energy homeostasis, and its dysregulation is closely associated with the occurrence of CC. Changes in microRNA (miRNA) expression levels might be related to the AMPK signaling pathway. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) can affect the function of miRNA and result in the development of CC. To investigate the association between the SNPs of AMPK pathway-associated miRNAs and CC in a Han Chinese population, we selected eight miRNA genes located in the AMPK pathway and analyzed nine SNP loci within these genes to explore whether they are associated with genetic susceptibility to cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and CC.

Methods

A total of 2,220 subjects were included in this study, including 928 healthy controls, 421 CIN patients, and 871 CC patients. Nine candidate SNPs (rs895819 in miR-27a, rs10061133 in miR-449b, rs41291179 in miR-216a, rs76481776 in miR-182, rs10406069 in miR-5196, rs12803915 and rs550894 in miR-612, rs66683138 in miR-3622b, and rs2620381 in miR-627) were genotyped using the TaqMan method.

Results

The results showed significant differences in the allele distribution of rs41291179 and rs12803915 between the control group and the CIN group, as well as between the control group and the CC group (all P values < 0.005). The A allele of rs41291179 and the G allele of rs12803915 were associated with decreased risk of CIN (OR = 0.05, 95% CI: 0.01-0.39; OR = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.49-0.76) and CC (OR = 0.08, 95% CI: 0.01-0.66; OR = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.59-0.86), respectively.

Conclusion

Our results suggest that polymorphisms in miRNA genes of the AMPK signaling pathway are associated with the development of CC.

Association of HLA class I and II genes with cervical cancer susceptibility in a Han Chinese population

Cervical cancer (CC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death in females worldwide. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified CC-related susceptibility loci in HLA regions. To investigate the associations between HLA genes and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) or cervical cancer (CC), six loci of HLA class I (HLA-A, -B, and -C) and II (HLA-DRB1, -DPB1, and -DQB1) were selected for genotyping, and the associations between these alleles or their haplotypes with CIN or CC risk or protection from disease were evaluated. In total, 2193 participants, including 909 healthy individuals in the control group, 769 patients with CC, and 515 patients with CIN2+ (CIN II and III), were enrolled in the current study. HLA genes were genotyped using the NGSgo Illumina MiSeq workflow, and the associations between these loci and CIN2+ or CC at the allele and haplotype levels were analyzed. The allele frequencies of HLA-A*33:03, B*58:01, C*03:02, DPB1*05:01, and DRB1*12:01 were lower in both the CC and CIN2+ groups than in the control group, whereas those of B*55:02, C*04:03, and DPB1*03:01 were higher in the CC group than in the control group. In the histologic CC type analysis, the differences in the frequencies of these alleles in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the cervix and stage I CC showed a consistent trend. In the haplotype analysis, the frequency of A*33:03-C*03:02-B*58:01 was lower in the CC and CIN2+ groups than in the control group, and that of A*24:02-C*04:03-B*15:25 was higher in the CC group than in both the control and CIN2+ groups. These three different haplotype frequencies were also identified in the FIGO CC stage analysis. In addition, in human papilloma virus (HPV) genotype analyses, the frequencies of HLA-C*03:02 and DPB1*05:01 were significantly lower in the CC and CIN2+ groups than in the control group, and in SCC subgroup, the frequencies of HLA-DQB1*04:01 and DRB1*04:05 were higher in the HPV other genotype infection group than in the HPV16 infection group. In both HPV16 single infection and coinfection with other HPVs, the frequency of haplotype A*33:03-C*03:02-B*58:01 was lower in both CC and CIN2+ than in the control group, while the frequencies of A*11:01-C*14:02-B*51:01 and A*24:02-C*03:04-B*13:01 were higher in the CIN2+ than in CC and the control group. In the HPV16 and other HPV infection comparisons, the frequencies of DRB1*04:05-DQB1*04:01-DPB1*02:01 and DRB1*11:01-DQB1*03:01-DPB1*05:01 were lower in the HPV16 infection group than in the other HPV infection group. Our results suggest that the HLA class I and II genes may affect the risk of CIN and CC as well as the histologic CC types and FIGO stages of CC in the Han Chinese population. In addition, HLA genes were associated with HPV16 infection at both the allelic and haplotype levels.

rs217727 of lncRNA H19 is Associated with Cervical Cancer Risk in the Chinese Han Population

Background

Long noncoding RNAs (LncRNAs) have been revealed to involve in cervical cancer (CC) developing. The current study was designed to explore the association of SNPs (rs217727, rs2366152, rs1859168, rs10505477) located in the lncRNA H19, HOTAIR, HOTTIP and CASC8 genes with the risk of CC in a Chinese Han population.

Methods

Four SNPs were selected and genotyped in 1426 participants (274 CIN patients, 448 CC patients, and 704 healthy control individuals) using MassArray. The association of these SNPs with susceptibility to CC was evaluated.

Results

Significant differences in allelic distribution of rs217727 were observed in the comparison of CC with control (P = 0.001), indicating the risk of rs217727-A allele in CC (OR = 1.33; 95% CI: 1.12-1.58). The inheritance model analysis revealed that 2AA+GA genotype represented a certain risk of CC (P = 0.001, OR = 1.35; 95% CI: 1.13-1.62). The stratified analysis revealed a risk of the rs217727-A allele for cervical squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) (P = 0.002, OR = 1.33; 95% CI: 1.11-1.60).

Conclusion

rs217727 in lncRNA H19 exhibited a significant correlation with CC susceptibility, particularly SCC, and A/A genotype of this SNP might present as a risk in CC.

Association of miR-149 T>C and miR-196a2 C>T Polymorphisms with Colorectal Cancer Susceptibility: A Case-Control Study

The principal aim of the current study was to investigate the relationship between miR-149 T>C (rs2292832) and miR-196a2 C>T (rs11614913) small non-coding RNA polymorphisms and the risk of developing CRC in the Azerbaijani population. The study included 120 patients diagnosed with CRC and 125 healthy individuals. Peripheral blood samples were collected from all the subjects in EDTA tubes and DNA extraction was performed by salting out. Polymorphisms were determined using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. While comparing without gender distinction no statistical correlation was found between the heterozygous TC (OR = 0.66; 95% CI = 0.37-1.15; p = 0.142), mutant CC (OR = 1.23; 95% CI = 0.62-2.45; p = 0.550), and mutant C (OR = 1.03; 95% CI = 0.72-1.49; p = 0.859) alleles of the miR-149 gene and the CT (OR = 1.23; 95% CI = 0.69-2.20; p = 0.485), mutant TT (OR = 1.29; 95% CI = 0.67-2.47; p = 0.452), and mutant T (OR = 1.17; 95% CI = 0.82-1.67; p = 0.388) alleles of the miR-196a2 gene and the risk of CRC. However, among women, miR-149 TC (OR = 0.43; 95% CI = 0.19-1.01; p = 0.048) correlated with a reduced risk of CRC, whereas miR-196a2 CT (OR = 2.77; 95% CI = 1.13-6.79; p = 0.025) correlated with an increased risk of CRC. Our findings indicated that miR-149 T>C (rs2292832) might play a protective role in the development of CRC in female patients, whereas the miR-196a2 (rs11614913) polymorphism is associated with an increased risk of CRC in women in the Azerbaijani population, highlighting the importance of gender dimorphism in cancer etiology.

Recent Updates on the Role of the MicroRNA-10 Family in Gynecological Malignancies

The ever-increasing morbidity associated with gynecological malignancies constantly endangers the physical and psychological health of women. Since a long time, there has been an urgent need for a deeper understanding of the tumorigenesis and the development of gynecological cancer to identify new molecular markers for early diagnosis and metastatic disease prognosis and for the development of therapeutic targets. MicroRNAs are crucial cellular regulators. The microRNA-10 (miR-10) family has been found to play an integral role in the evolution of numerous cancer types. A comprehensive understanding of current studies on miR-10 could provide better insights into future research and clinical applications in related fields. This article reviews the latest research on the role of the miR-10 family in gynecological malignancies and the relevant molecular mechanism, mainly focusing on endometrial, cervical, and ovarian cancers.