A Functional Variant in MicroRNA-196a2 Is Associated with Susceptibility of Colorectal Cancer in a Chinese Population

Background and Aims NAs (miRNA) can act as oncogenes or tumor suppressors. Polymorphisms present in pri-, pre- and mature miRNAs can potentially modulate the expression of hundreds of genes, broadly affecting miRNA function. Notably, the rs11614913 SNP in miR-196a2 has been implicated in carcinogenesis, but its association with colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unexplored. We performed a case−control study to investigate the genetic association between this functional SNP and CRC susceptibility and progression. s otyped the rs11614913 SNP in 252 CRC patients and 543 healthy controls by polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR–RFLP). In addition, we examined miR-196a expression level in colorectal cancer tissues (n = 50) obtained from the studied CRC patients. s ncy of the CC genotype was higher in CRC patients than controls, implying that the subjects with the CC genotype or C allele containing genotypes (CT and CC) have a higher risk of CRC. However, no significant association between this polymorphism and CRC progression was observed. Expression analysis revealed that rs11614913 CC or carrying at least one C allele was associated with a significantly increased level of mature miR-196a (p = 0.010 or = 0.022). sions esent study provides the first evidence that miR-196a2 polymorphism may contribute to CRC susceptibility in a Chinese population through modulating mature miR-196a expression.