High-resolution melting analysis reveals genetic polymorphisms in MicroRNAs confer hepatocellular carcinoma risk in Chinese patients

Background: Although several single-nucleotide polymorphisms in microRNA (miRNA) genes have been associated with primary hepatocellular carcinoma, published findings regarding this relationship are inconsistent and inconclusive. Methods: The high-resolution melting (HRM) analysis was used to determine whether the occurrence of the SNPs of miR-146a C > G (rs2910164), miR-196a2 C > T (rs11614913), miR-301b A > G (rs384262), and miR-499 C > T (rs3746444) differs in frequency-matched 314 HCC patients and 407 controls by age and sex. Results: The groups' genotype distributions of miR-196a2 C > T and miR-499 C > T differed significantly (P < 0.01), both of them increased the risk of HCC in different dominant genetic models (P < 0.01); compared with individuals carrying one or neither of the unfavorable genotypes, individuals carrying both unfavorable genotypes (CT + CC) had a 3.11-fold higher HCC risk (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.89-5.09; P = 7.18 x 10(-6)). Moreover, the allele frequency of miR-499 C > T was significantly different between the two groups, and the HCC risk of carriers of the C allele was higher than that of carriers of the T allele (odds ratio, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.15-2.03; P = 0.003). Further, we found that the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) in HCC patients with miR-196a2 CC genotype was longer than patients with TT genotypes (P < 0.05), and HCC patients with miR-499 C allele had higher serum levels of direct bilirubin, globulin, gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase, alkaline phosphatase, and lower serum cholinesterase (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the SNPs in miR-196a2 C > T and miR-499 C > T confer HCC risk and that affect the clinical laboratory characteristics of HCC patients.