Association of single nucleotide polymorphisms at 20q12 with nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate in a Southern Chinese Han cohort.

BACKGROUND

Nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCL/P) is a common congenital malformation in the world. Both environment and genetics are involved with the etiology of the disease. Genome-wide association studies have identified two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at chromosome 20q12 to be associated with NSCL/P. The current study aimed to explore the association of the two SNPs at 20q12 with NSCL/P and different subtypes in a Southern Chinese Han cohort.

METHODS

A total of 430 NSCL/P patients and 451 controls were recruited in the current study. Two SNPs including rs17820943 and rs6072081 at 20q12 were genotyped in the study cohort using Taqman SNP genotyping analysis. Chi-Square test was used to compare allele and genotype frequencies of NSCL/P patients and control group.

RESULTS

Case-control analysis showed that the allele and genotype of rs17820943 and rs6072081 were significantly associated with NSCL/P (p < .01). Comparison between subtypes of NSCL/P and controls showed that frequencies of the G allele and GG genotype of rs6072081 (p = 4.52 × 10-4 and p = .001 respectively), and those of the T allele and TT genotype of rs17820943 (p = 6.7 × 10-5 and p = 1.71 × 10-4 respectively) were decreased in cleft lip and palate (CLP). No significant association of the two SNPs with cleft lip only (CLO) and cleft palate only (CPO) was found (p > .05).

CONCLUSION

These results showed that rs17820943 and rs6072081 at 20q12 were associated with NSCL/P, especially with the CLP subtype in a Southern Chinese Han cohort.