Polymorphism Of The Pre-mir-146a Is Associated With Risk Of High Risk HPV Persistent In A Chinese Population

Objective：MicroRNAs are tiny non-coding RNAs that reportedly play an importantrole in numerous physiological processes. A G>C polymorphism (rs2910164) islocated on the passenger strand of the precursor of miR-146a, which could altermature miR-146a expression. We hypothesized that a possible association existsbetween miR-146a gene polymorphisms and high risk HPV persistent risk in apopulation-based control study of female residents in Jiangsu Province.Methods： The subjects included278HPV-persistent cases and263non-HPVpersistent controls with frequency matched by age. We genotyped the functionalpolymorphism of miR-146a (rs2910164) by polymerase chain reaction-restrictionfragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method, and used a sample of32HPV-persistent tissues to test the expression of mature miR-146a by real-timequantitative reverse transcription.Results：Our study indicated that the subjects carrying GG homozygote had a1.789-fold increased risk than those carrying GC/CC genotypes (95%CI=1.182-2.707). Moreover, miR-146a quantification showed that the carriers of GGgenotype had obviously more reduced mature miR-146a expression level comparedwith the carriers of CC genotype.Conclusion：The natural genetic variation in pre-miR-146a may affect the amount ofmature miR-146a in vivo, and contribute to the susceptibility to HPV persistent.