Association of genetic variations in Toll-Like receptor 3 with Acute Lymphoblastic leukemia

Abstract

Objectives: This study investigates the association between specific SNPs in the Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) gene and susceptibility to Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in the Saudi population, aiming to clarify genetic influences on ALL risk. Methods: We evaluated four SNPs of TLR3 (rs3775296 C/A, rs5743312 C/T, rs3775291 C/T, and rs3775290 C/T) for their association with ALL. The allelic and genotypic frequencies of these SNPs were compared between 150 patients and 115 control subjects in this case-control study. All participants were genotyped using TaqMan PCR techniques. Additionally, mRNA expression levels were assessed in patients with ALL and matched healthy individuals using Real-Time Quantitative Reverse Transcription PCR (qRT-PCR). Results: Significant differences in genotype frequencies were observed for the TLR3 SNPs rs5743312 C/T and rs3775290 C/T between the ALL patients and control subjects. No significant differences were detected for rs3775296 C/A and rs3775291 C/T. Notably, the rs5743312 SNP was associated with an increased risk of ALL, while rs3775290 was associated with a decreased risk in the Saudi population. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates significant associations of the TLR3 SNPs rs5743312 C/T and rs3775290 C/T with ALL in the Saudi population. These polymorphisms could be pivotal in developing genetic screening tools and enhancing risk prediction strategies for ALL.

Keywords

• Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
• Single nucleotide polymorphisms
• Toll-like receptor