The association of FSCN1 (rs852479, rs1640233) and HOTAIR (rs920778) polymorphisms with the risk of breast cancer in Egyptian women

BACKGROUND

Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most prevalent cancers that contribute to mortality among women worldwide. Despite contradictory findings, considerable evidence suggests that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the FSCN1 and HOTAIR genes may have a causative impact on the development of BC. This case-control study was conducted to evaluate the association of genotype frequency in FSCN1 rs852479, rs1640233, and HOTAIR rs920778 with susceptibility and prognosis of BC, as well as the impact of clinical stages and hormonal features.

METHODS AND RESULTS

FSCN1 (rs852479, rs1640233) and HOTAIR (rs920778) were genotyped using TaqMan real-time PCR assay in 200 BC patients and 200 cancer-free controls, all representing Egyptian women. Genotypic analyses in association with clinicopathological factors and disease risk were assessed. As a result, a significant association with BC risk was observed for CC genotype frequency of FSCN1 rs852479 A > C (OR = 0.395, 95% CI 0.204-0.76, p-value = 0.005). However, no significant correlation was detected between the FSCN1 rs1640233 C > T and HOTAIR rs920778 C > T polymorphic variants and susceptibility to BC. Interestingly, CC genotype of FSCN1 rs1640233 was more likely to progress tumor size and lymph node invasion in BC cases (p-value = 0.04 and 0.02, respectively). Moreover, it was revealed that there was a non-significant correlation between the haplotype distributions of FSCN1 rs852479 and rs1640233 and the probability of BC.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the sample size and genetic characteristics of the subjects involved in the present study, our findings indicated that FSCN1 rs852479 may contribute to BC susceptibility in a sample of the Egyptian population.

Evaluation of IGF-1, TNF-α, and TGF-β Gene Expression after Oral Vitamin D Supplementation in School-Aged Children with Chronic Bronchial Asthma

BACKGROUND: Airway remodeling in children with bronchial asthma is due to the effect of inflammatory mediators and growth factors on the bronchial epithelium. Vitamin D (VitD) has immunomodulatory effect in many inflammatory diseases as bronchial asthma. The ant-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic role of VitD could prevent or improve air way remodeling in asthmatic patients. AIM: The study investigated the effect of VitD supplementation on the expression of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and insulin growth factor 1(IGF-1) and to correlate them with asthma severity and level of control. METHODS: The serum level of VitD and the mRNA expression of IGF-1, TGF-β, and TNF-α were estimated in 50 patients and 20 healthy controls control subjects using quantitative PCR in real-time. Asthmatic patients with VitD deficiency received VitD supplementation for 2 months followed by remeasurement of serum VitD and the genes expression TGF-β, TNF-α, and IGF-1. RESULT: Pre-intake of VitD and serum level of VitD were lower in all patients than control subjects (p = 0.005). VitD level was directly correlated with IGF-1 mRNA expression, which was indirectly correlated with TGF-β, r = 0.5 and −0.57; p = 0.0001 and 0.002, respectively. After VitD supplementation, the expression of the TGF-β mRNA gene was the only gene that decreased significantly (p = 0.04) together with improved asthma control and spirometric parameters. CONCLUSIONS: VitD supplementation down regulated the gene expression of TGF-β and improved asthma control level, but it did not significantly affect the gene expression of TNF-α and IGF-1.