Genetic variants within miR-126 and miR-335 are not associated with breast cancer risk

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are 20-22 nt non-coding RNAs which promote the degradation of target mRNAs or repression of the translation of mRNAs by sequence specific targeting. Many miRNAs are considered as oncogenes or tumor suppressors. MiR-126 and miR-335 play roles in the suppression of breast cancer metastasis by inhibiting tumor growth, proliferation, and cell invasion. The effects of SNPs within the two miRNAs are still unknown. In our study, we analyzed two SNPs, rs4636297 within miR-126 and rs41272366 within miR-335, in three study populations for a putative association with breast cancer risk. We compared the genotype and allele frequencies of rs4636297 and rs41272366 in 2854 cases versus 3188 controls of the three study populations independently and combined. None of the performed analyses showed statistically significant results. In conclusion, our data suggest that the two genetic variants within miR-126 and miR-335 are not associated with breast cancer risk.