Impact of Gene Polymorphisms in GAS5 on Urothelial Cell Carcinoma Development and Clinical Characteristics

Association of long noncoding RNA GAS5 gene polymorphism with progression of diabetic kidney disease

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a common microvascular complication of diabetes, whose complex etiology involves a genetic component. Growth arrest-specific 5 (GAS5), a long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) gene, has been recently shown to regulate renal fibrosis. Here, we aimed to explore the potential role of GAS5 gene polymorphisms in the predisposition to DKD. One single-nucleotide (rs55829688) and one insertion/deletion polymorphism (rs145204276) of GAS5 gene were surveyed in 778 DKD cases and 788 DKD-free diabetic controls. We demonstrated that diabetic subjects who are heterozygous at rs55829688 (TC; AOR, 1.737; 95% CI, 1.028-2.937; p=0.039) are more susceptible to advanced DKD but not early-staged DKD, as compared to diabetic subjects who are homozygous for the major allele of rs55829688 (TT). Carriers of at least one minor allele (C) of rs55829688 (TC and CC; AOR, 1.317; 95% CI, 1.023-1.696; p=0.033) more frequently suffer from advanced DKD than do those homozygotes for the major allele (TT). Furthermore, in comparison to those who do not carry the minor allele of rs55829688 (TT), advanced DKD patients possessing at least one minor allele of rs55829688 (TC and CC) exhibited a lower glomerular filtration rate, revealing an impact of rs55829688 on renal co-morbidities of diabetes. In conclusion, our data indicate an association of GAS5 gene polymorphisms with the progression of DKD.

The impacts of MACC1 gene polymorphisms on urothelial cell carcinoma susceptibility and clinicopathologic characteristics in Taiwan

Urothelial cell carcinoma (UCC) is a common malignancy of the urinary tract in Taiwan. Metastasis-Associated in Colon Cancer 1 (MACC1), a newly identified oncogene and regulator of the HGF/Met signaling pathway, has been shown to play a critical role in the development and progression of several types of cancer. Our study aims to investigate the impact of MACC1 gene polymorphisms on the clinicopathological features of patients with UCC. In this study, we included a total of 719 patients with UCC and 719 healthy controls. The genotyping of five MACC1 gene polymorphisms (rs1990172, rs975263, rs3095007, rs4721888, and rs3735615) was performed using real-time PCR with TaqMan assays. Our findings indicate that urothelial cancer patients with MACC1 rs3095007 A allele had a decreased risk of >T2 stage [Odds ratio (OR)=0.619, 95% CI=0.394-0.971, p=0.036] and lymph node invasion (OR=0.448, 95% CI=0.201-0.998, p=0.044). Additionally, these individuals were associated with longer relapse-free survival (p=0.007) and overall survival (p=0.028). In conclusion, our findings demonstrate that urothelial cancer patients with MACC1 (rs3095007) CA and AA genotypes have a lower risk of advanced T stage and lymph node metastasis. Additionally, these genotypes were associated with longer relapse-free survival and overall survival, highlighting the potential of these biomarkers as predictors of UCC prognosis.

Impact of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-3 genetic variants on clinicopathological characteristics of urothelial cell carcinoma

To investigate the distribution of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-3 (TIMP-3) in patients with/without urothelial cell carcinoma (UCC), three loci of TIMP-3 SNPs (rs9862 C/T, rs9619311 T/C, rs11547635 C/T) were genotyped via TaqMan allelic discrimination for 424 UCC patients and 848 non-UCC participants. Furthermore, the TIMP-3 mRNA expression and its correlation with clinical characters of urothelial bladder carcinoma was analyzed using The Cancer Genome Atlas database (TCGA). The distribution of all 3 studied SNPs of TIMP-3 was insignificantly different between the UCC and non-UCC groups. However, significantly lower tumor T status was found in TIMP-3 SNP rs9862 CT + TT variant than the wild type (OR: 0.515, 95% CI: 0.289-0.917, P = 0.023). Moreover, the muscle invasive tumor type was significantly correlated to the TIMP-3 SNP rs9619311 TC + CC variant in the non-smoker subgroup (OR: 2.149, 95% CI: 1.143-4.039, P = 0.016). With the TIMP-3 expression data provided in TCGA, significantly higher TIMP-3 mRNA expression was observed in UCC with high tumor stage (P < 0.0001), high tumor T status (P < 0.0001) and high lymph node status (P = 0.0005). In conclusions, TIMP-3 SNP rs9862 variant is associated with lower tumor T status of UCC while TIMP-3 SNP rs9619311 variant is correlated to muscle invasive UCC development in non-smoker.

Impact of LncRNA GAS5 Genetic Variants and the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Phenotypes on the Clinicopathological Characteristics of Lung Adenocarcinoma Patients

The aim of the current study was to evaluate the combined effect of the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in long non-coding RNA growth arrest-specific 5 (GAS5) and the phenotypes of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) on the clinicopathological characteristics of lung adenocarcinoma. The present study examined the relationship between the GAS5 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; rs145204276 Ins/Del, rs55829688 T/C) and the clinicopathological factors in 539 lung adenocarcinoma patients with or without EGFR mutations. We found that the genotype distributions of the two GAS5 SNPs between different EGFR genotypes were similar after adjusting for age, gender and smoking history. The GAS5 SNP rs145204276 Ins/Del + Del/Del illustrated a higher distribution with an advanced tumor stage (p = 0.030), larger tumor T status (p = 0.019), positive lymph node status (p = 0.014) and distal metastases (p = 0.011) in the EGFR wild type group. In the subgroup analysis of the EGFR wild type population, the presence of GAS5 SNP rs145204276 Ins/Del + Del/Del was correlated to an advanced tumor stage (p = 0.014) and distal metastases (p = 0.020) in non-smokers. In conclusion, these data indicate that the GAS5 SNP rs145204276 variant may help predict tumor stage, lymph node metastasis and distal metastases in patients with EGFR wild type lung adenocarcinoma.

Tumor Suppressive Effects of GAS5 in Cancer Cells

In recent years, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been shown to play important regulatory roles in cellular processes. Growth arrests specific transcript 5 (GAS5) is a lncRNA that is highly expressed during the cell cycle arrest phase but is downregulated in actively growing cells. Growth arrests specific transcript 5 was discovered to be downregulated in several cancers, primarily solid tumors, and it is known as a tumor suppressor gene that regulates cell proliferation, invasion, migration, and apoptosis via multiple molecular mechanisms. Furthermore, GAS5 polymorphism was found to affect GAS5 expression and functionality in a cell-specific manner. This review article focuses on GAS5’s tumor-suppressive effects in regulating oncogenic signaling pathways, cell cycle, apoptosis, tumor-associated genes, and treatment-resistant cells. We also discussed genetic polymorphisms of GAS5 and their association with cancer susceptibility.

Impact of Long Noncoding RNA LINC00673 Genetic Variants on Susceptibility to Diabetic Retinopathy

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been proven to play critical roles in diabetic retinopathy (DR). This study investigated whether the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of long intergenic noncoding RNA 00673 (LINC00673) affects the clinical characteristics of diabetic retinopathy (DR). A total of three loci of LINC00673 SNPs (rs6501551, rs9914618, and rs11655237) were genotyped using TaqMan allelic discrimination in 276 and 454 individuals with and without DR, respectively. Our results revealed that LINC00673 SNP rs11655237 CT genotype (AOR: 1.592, 95% CI: 1.059–2.395, p = 0.026), CT + TT genotype (AOR: 1.255, 95% CI: 1.029–1.531, p = 0.025), and allele T (AOR: 1.185, 95% CI: 1.004–1.397, p = 0.044) yielded higher ratios in the non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) subgroup than in the non-DR group. Furthermore, the interval of diabetes mellitus (DM) was significantly shorter in the LINC00673 SNP rs11655237 CT + TT variant than that in the LINC00673 SNP rs11655237 wild type (10.44 ± 7.10 vs. 12.98 ± 8.34, p = 0.009). In conclusion, the LINC00673 SNP rs11655237 T allele is associated with a higher probability of NPDR development. Patients with the LINC00673 SNP rs11655237 CT + TT variant exhibited a short DM interval.

Genetic Variants of lncRNA GAS5 Are Associated with the Clinicopathologic Development of Oral Cancer

The long noncoding RNA, Growth arrest-specific 5 (GAS5) plays a crucial role in the development of oral cancer. However, potential genetic variants in GAS5 that affect the susceptibility and progression of oral cancer have rarely been explored. In this study, two loci of GAS5 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs145204276 and rs55829688) were genotyped by using the TaqMan allelic discrimination in 1125 oral cancer patients and 1195 non-oral-cancer individuals. After statistical analyses, the distribution of both the GAS5 SNP rs145204276 and GAS5 SNP rs55829688 frequencies were similar between the study and control groups. However, the patients with GAS5 SNP rs145204276 variants (Ins/Del or Del/Del) showed a higher tendency of moderate to poor cell differentiation of oral cancer (OR: 1.454, 95% CI: 1.041–2.031, p = 0.028). Moreover, the GAS5 SNP rs145204276 variants (Ins/Del or Del/Del) in the non-alcohol-drinking population were associated with significantly advanced tumor stage (OR: 1.500, 95% CI: 1.081–2.081, p = 0.015) and larger tumor size (OR: 1.494, 95% CI: 1.076–2.074, p = 0.016). Furthermore, individuals with the GAS5 SNP rs145204276 variant were associated with a higher expression of GAS5 in the GTEx database (p = 0.002), and the higher GAS5 level was associated with poor cell differentiation, advanced tumor stage and larger tumor size in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma from the TCGA database (all p < 0.05). In conclusion, the GAS5 SNP rs145204276 variant is related to poor-differentiation cell status in oral cancer. Besides, the presence of the GAS5 SNP rs145204276 variant is associated with a worse tumor stage and tumor size in oral cancer patients without alcohol drinking.

The Impact of HMGB1 Polymorphisms on Prostate Cancer Progression and Clinicopathological Characteristics

Prostate cancer is one of the major cancers of the genitourinary tract. High-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) was suggested as a promising therapeutic target for prostate cancer. In this study, we aim to elucidate the associations of HMGB1 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with prostate cancer susceptibility and clinicopathological characteristics. The HMGB1 SNPs rs1412125, rs2249825, rs1045411, and rs1360485 in 579 prostate cancer patients and 579 cancer-free controls were analyzed with real-time polymerase chain reactions (real-time PCR). All of the data were evaluated with SAS statistical software. Our results showed that the HMGB1 rs1045411 T allele genotype was significantly associated with advanced pathologic T stage (odds ratio (OR) = 1.433, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.021–2.012; p = 0.037) and pathologic N1 stage (OR = 2.091, 95% CI = 1.160–3.767; p = 0.012), and the rs1360485 polymorphic CT + TT genotype was associated with pathologic Gleason grade group (4 + 5) (OR = 1.583, 95% CI = 1.017–2.462; p = 0.041), pathologic T stage (3 + 4) (OR = 1.482, 95% CI = 1.061–2.070; p = 0.021), and pathologic N1 stage (OR = 2.131, 95% CI = 1.178–3.852; p = 0.011) compared with their wild-type carriers. In conclusion, our results revealed that the HMGB1 SNPs were associated with the clinical status of prostate cancer. The HMGB1 SNPs may have the potential to predict prostate cancer disease progression.