HOTAIR gene polymorphisms and risk of glioma in Chinese children

Purpose Glioma is the most common malignant brain tumor in children. Hox transcription antisense intergenic RNA (HOTAIR) has been shown to promote cancers. However, the role of genetic variation of HOTAIR gene on glioma susceptibility has not been fully elucidated. We aimed to evaluate whether HOTAIR gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are associated with susceptibility to glioma. Methods The trial included a total of 171 glioma patients and 228 non-glioma controls from Chinese children. Genotyping of HOTAIR gene was evaluated by TaqMan. The strength of the association between HOTAIR gene polymorphism (rs920778 A > G, rs4759314 A > G, rs1899663 C > A) and glioma susceptibility was assessed using odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Stratified analysis was further conducted. Results Of the three SNPs analyzed, the rs920778 variant and the rs1899663 variant were associated with increased glioma susceptibility. In addition, the combination of two risk genotypes (OR = 1.63, P = 0.028) and one to three risk genotypes (OR = 1.58, P = 0.027) showed a significantly higher increase in glioma susceptibility than zero risk genotypes. These two SNPs (rs920778 A > G, rs1899663 C > A) were significantly associated with increased glioma susceptibility in certain subgroups in stratified analysis. Similar results were found in stratified analyses for one to three risk genotypes compared with zero risk genotypes. Splice quantitative trait loci (sQTLs) indicated rs920778 A > G and rs1899663 C > A are associated with splicing events in certain genes (HOTAIR, HOXC5, HOXC10, HOXC6, and HOXC4). Conclusion Overall, our results suggest that some HOTAIR SNPs are associated with increased glioma susceptibility.