Study of Vitamin D Receptor Gene Polymorphism (FokI, TaqI and ApaI) Among Prostate Cancer Patients in North India

Frequency of Healthy Control Genotype of VDR Gene Polymorphisms in the Saudi Population of the Ha'il Region: A Comparative Study with Worldwide Population

Genetic polymorphisms in the vitamin D receptor (VDR) may influence the biological effects of vitamin D and increase a person's susceptibility to cancer. Previous studies have shown that different ethnic groups exhibit varying frequencies of the VDR gene variants TaqI, ApaI, FokI, and BsmI. However, the allelic distribution of these VDR polymorphisms in the Saudi population of Ha'il region is not sufficiently explored. In this study, efforts were made to ascertain the frequency of VDR polymorphisms in the Saudi population of Ha'il region, and then comparison was made for VDR polymorphism rates with other populations of the world. Allele and genotype frequencies of VDR TaqI, ApaI, BsmI and FokI gene was determined. The frequency distribution for the variant allele of VDR TaqI, ApaI, BsmI and FokI was found to be 70, 33, 50 and 25%, respectively. A significant frequency distribution was found for VDR-TaqI, ApaI and FokI variants in comparison with other populations of the world. Whereas, almost all of the studies dealing with VDR-FokI failed to show substantial difference while comparing with the data reported from the population of Ha'il region of Saudi Arabia. A significant pattern in the frequency of VDR gene variations have been found in the Saudi population of Ha'il region, which may be attributed to ethnic variance. The understanding of the worldwide distribution of VDR markers could help with high-risk screening of those who are exposed to environmental hazards and people of Ha'il region, who are predispose to cancer.

BsmI-ApaI-TaqI TAC (BAt) Haplotype of Vitamin D Receptor Gene Is Associated with Increased Risk of Major Depressive Disorder

Heritability of major depressive disorder (MDD) is between 36 and 44%, suggesting that up to nearly half of the phenotypic variability is attributable to genes. A number of genetic polymorphisms have been shown to predispose certain individuals to depression. Of particular interest are the polymorphisms of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene. Although the VDR gene has been well characterized and a vast number of polymorphisms have been identified, the association between BsmI (rs1544410), ApaI (rs7975232) and TaqI (rs731236) single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), together with their haplotypes, and MDD risk have yet to be established. We conducted a matched case-control study with a total of 600 participants comprising 300 major depressive disorder (MDD) cases and 300 controls matched by age, gender and ethnicity in a 1:1 ratio, in four public hospitals in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. Three adjacent SNPs of the VDR gene-BsmI (rs1544410), ApaI (rs7975232) and TaqI (rs731236)-were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were obtained from conditional logistic regression using Stata 16. Linkage disequilibrium and haplotype association with MDD were analyzed using the online SNPStats program. None of the genotypes of the three SNPs was significantly associated with risk of developing MDD after adjusting for confounding factors. However, the TAC (BAt) haplotype was associated with increased odds of MDD (adjusted OR = 2.17, 95% CI = 1.30-3.61, p = 0.003) using CCT (baT) as reference haplotype. The findings suggest that the BsmI-ApaI-TaqI TAC (BAt) haplotype of the VDR gene increases susceptibility to MDD.

Efficacy of abiraterone combined with flutamide on prostate cancer patients and its effect on serum miR-493-5p and miR-195-5p

Efficacy of abiraterone combined with flutamide on patients with prostate cancer (PCa) and its effect on levels of miR-493-5p and miR-195-5p contained in serum were investigated. The medical records of 146 PCa patients admitted to Longhua Hospital Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from January 2011 to December 2013 were selected. Eighty-four patients were treated with abiraterone combined with flutamide as a study group, 62 patients were treated with abiraterone alone as a control group. The curative effect, adverse reactions, quality of life and five-year overall survival (OS) of the two groups were compared. The serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level was measured by radioimmunoassay at 3 days (T1) before treatment, 1 month (T2), 2 months (T3), and 6 months (T4) after treatment, and the relative expression of miR-493-5p and miR-195-5p in serum were detected by qRT-PCR. The total effective rate of the study group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P<0.05). The total incidence of toxic and side effects in the study group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). The improvement rate of quality of life in the study group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). OS in the study group was significantly higher than that in the control group at 5 years (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in serum PSA level between the two groups at T1 (P>0.05); there was no significant difference in the relative expression of miR-493-5p and miR-195-5p between the two groups at T1 (P>0.05). In conclusion, abiraterone combined with flutamide has better curative effect and lower incidence of adverse reactions in patients with metastatic castration-resistant PCa (CRPC) than abiraterone alone, and can increase the expression levels of miR-493-5p and miR-195-5p in patient serum.

Vitamin D receptor Taq I polymorphism and the risk of prostate cancer: a meta-analysis

Numerous previous studies reported the association of Vitamin D receptor gene Taq Ipolymorphism with prostate cancer risk, however these results were controversial. In order to provide a relatively comprehensive description of this relationship, we conducted this meta-analysis by searching PubMed, Embase, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure. Finally, 36 studies with 8,423 cases and 8,887 controls were included. Taq I polymorphism was found to marginally increase the prostate cancer risk in recessive genetic model (tt/Tt vs. TT: Odds Ratio (OR) = 0.89, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 0.80–1.00, p = 0.05) and allele genetic model (t vs. T allele: OR = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.84–0.99, p = 0.003) in the overall analysis. Subgroup analyses showed that significant increased risk was found in Asians in homozygote model (tt vs. TT: OR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.41–0.95, p = 0.029) and allele genetic model (t vs. T: OR = 0.78, 95% CI = 0.67–0.90, p = 0.002), and in the subgroup of population-based controls in all the genetic models. These results suggest that Taq Ipolymorphism might be a risk factor of prostate cancer risk, especially in Asians. It could be considered as a promising target to predict the prostate cancer risk for clinical practice.