Published online Mar 15, 2020. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v12.i3.289
Peer-review started: September 6, 2019
First decision: October 14, 2019
Revised: November 18, 2019
Accepted: January 6, 2020
Article in press: January 6, 2020
Published online: March 15, 2020
Processing time: 187 Days and 20.3 Hours
The single nucleotide polymorphisms of interleukin-21 (IL-21) gene were confirmed to be related to various diseases, but no studies have examined the possible role of IL-21 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs907715, rs2221903, and rs12508721) in gastric precancerous lesions.
To explore the associations between SNPs of IL-21 gene (rs907715, rs2221903, and rs12508721) and gastric precancerous lesions in a Chinese population.
Three SNPs of IL-21 were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction–ligase detection reaction in 588 cases and 290 healthy controls from May 2013 to December 2016 in northwestern China. Gastric precancerous lesions were confirmed by endoscopic examination and categorized as non-atrophic gastritis, atrophic gastritis, and intestinal metaplasia. Descriptive statistic and logistic regression were used for data analyses.
IL-21 rs907715 genotype CC and C frequencies were higher in in patients with gastric precancerous lesions than in the controls (OR = 1.59, 95%CI: 1.06-2.38, P = 0.013; OR = 1.28, 95%CI: 1.01-2.22, P = 0.044, respectively) after adjusting for confounding factors. For SNP rs907715 in intestinal metaplasia patients, significant differences between cases and controls were observed in the frequencies of genotype CC and C (OR = 1.92, 95%CI: 1.24-2.98, P = 0.004; OR = 1.53, 95%CI: 1.04-2.24, P = 0.028, respectively); for non-atrophic gastritis and atrophic gastritis patients, the CC and C genotypes showed no significant association with risk in all models. No association between either rs2221903 or rs12508721 and gastric precancerous lesions was found in the present study. In the haplotype analysis, the TC haplotype (rs907715 and rs12508721) and TT haplotype (rs2221903 and rs907715) were more frequent in the case group than control group (P < 0.05).
Our findings indicate that SNP rs907715 of IL-21 gene is associated with gastric precancerous lesions. The TC haplotype (rs907715 and rs12508721) and TT haplotype (rs2221903 and rs907715) increased the risk of gastric precancerous lesions. If confirmed, these findings will shed light on the etiology of precancerous lesions.
Core tip: This study investigated the associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms of interleukin-21 (IL-21) gene (rs907715, rs2221903 and rs12508721) and gastric precancerous lesions in a Chinese population. The results showed an association between IL-21 rs907715 polymorphism and gastric precancerous lesions. IL-21 rs907715 genotype CC and C frequencies were higher in patients with gastric precancerous lesions than in the controls. Single nucleotide polymorphism rs907715 increased in CC and C genotypes were associated with intestinal metaplasia patients when examined separately. These findings may help clarify the etiology of gastric cancer.