International Journal of General Medicine (Oct 2022)
The Glu69Asp Polymorphism of EME1 Gene is Associated with an Increased Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Guangxi Population, China
Abstract
Youxin Wang,1,* Xinglei Huang,1,* Zhaohui Su,1,* Junquan He,1 Na Zhao,1 Liyun Nie,1 Yanmei Tang,1 Huiliu Zhao,2 Qingqing Nong1,3 1Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, 530021, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, 530021, People’s Republic of China; 3Guangxi Colleges and Universities Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control of Highly Prevalent Diseases, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, 530021, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Qingqing Nong, Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, 530021, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 771-5358146, Fax +86 771-5350823, Email [email protected]: The dysfunction of Essential meiotic endonuclease 1 homolog 1 (EME1) can lead to genomic instability and tumorigenesis. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the EME1 gene have been reported to be associated with the risk of several cancers, but its association with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been investigated. This study aimed to determine the association between EME1 SNPs and the risk of HCC.Methods: This study included 645 HCC patients and 649 healthy controls from a Guangxi population of Southern China, and genotyped three functional SNPs (Glu69Asp: rs3760413A>C, Ile350Thr: rs12450550T>C, and rs11868055A>G) of the EME1 gene utilizing the Agena MassARRAY platform.Results: The rs3760413C variant genotypes (AC+CC: Glu/Asp+Asp/Asp) conferred a 1.419-fold risk of HCC compared to the AA (Glu/Glu) genotype (adjusted OR = 1.419, 95% CI = 1.017– 1.980), and the allele C increased the risk of HCC in a dose-dependent manner (Ptrend = 0.017). Moreover, the effects of the rs3760413C variant genotypes were more pronounced in individuals who drank pond/ditch water (adjusted OR = 3.956, 95% CI = 1.413– 11.076) than in those who never drank (P = 0.033). We further observed that a potential carcinogen microcystin-LR induced more DNA oxidative damages in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from the carriers of rs3760413C variant genotypes than those from the subjects with AA genotype (P = 0.006). A nomogram was also constructed combining the rs3760413A>C polymorphism and environmental risk factors for predicting HCC risk with a good discriminatory ability (concordance index = 0.892, 95% CI: 0.874– 0.911) and good calibration (mean absolute error = 0.005).Conclusion: Our data suggest that the Glu69Asp missense polymorphism (rs3760413) of EME1 gene is associated with the risk of HCC, which may be a susceptible biomarker of HCC in the Guangxi population.Keywords: EME1, hepatocellular carcinoma, missense polymorphism, pond/ditch water, nomogram
