Genotype and haplotype analysis of WNT genes in non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate.

The wingless-type MMTV integration site family (Wnt) signalling pathway plays a crucial role in craniofacial development. Recently, nucleotide variants in WNT genes have been shown to be associated with oral congenital anomalies, including facial clefts. Therefore, in the current study we decided to assay the association of nucleotide variants in selected WNT genes with the risk of non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NCL/P) in the Polish population. Fourteen polymorphisms in WNT3, WNT3A, WNT5A, WNT8A, WNT9B, and WNT11 were tested in a group of 210 patients with NCL/P and in a properly matched control group. The most significant results were found for the WNT3 rs3809857 variant, which, under the assumption of a recessive model, was associated with a two-fold decrease in the risk of NCL/P (OR(TT vs. GT + GG) = 0.492, 95% CI: 0.276-0.879, P = 0.015). Moreover, haplotype analysis revealed that WNT3 is significantly correlated with NCL/P. The global P-values for haplotypes of rs12452064_rs7207916 and rs3809857_rs12452064_rs7207916 were 0.0034 and 0.0014, respectively, and these results were statistically significant, even after the permutation test correction. In conclusion, our study confirmed the involvement of polymorphisms in the WNT3 gene in NCL/P aetiology in the tested population.