Mannose-binding lectin-2 genetic variation and stomach cancer risk

Dificiency of the mannose-binding lectin (MBL) protein, an antigen-recognition mol. involved in systemic and mucosal innate immunity, is detd. by variant alleles in MBL2 gene promoter and exon-1 regions. We conducted a population-based study on 305 stomach cancer cases and 427 controls in Warsaw, Poland to det. whether MBL2 gene variants predispose to stomach cancer. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in MBL2 were detd. by TaqMan. The 5 tested MBL2 variants are in complete linkage disequil. and comprise 6 different haplotypes. The risk of stomach cancer was increased in subjects carrying the H/H promoter genotype (OR= 1.8, 95%CI 1.1-2.9; p= 0.020) relative to L/L carriers, after adjustment for age, gender, education and smoking. Carrying at least one D exon-1 allele was assocd. with nonsignificant excess risk (OR= 1.5, 95% CI 0.9-2.4; p= 0.081). In haplotype anal., the HYD haplotype was assocd. with increased risk of stomach cancer when compared with HYA, the most common haplotype (OR= 1.9, 95% CI 1.1-3.2; p= 0.021). In diplotype anal., subjects carrying the YA/D haplotype combination showed the highest risk (OR= 3.0, 95% CI 1.2-7.1; p= 0.015), compared with YA/YA. Further analyses to examine the joint effect of MBL2 and IL-1B polymorphisms, previously shown to predispose to stomach cancer, indicated that the combination of at-risk IL-1B genotypes (CT or TT at location -511) and HYD MBL2 haplotype was assocd. with a 3.5-fold risk (OR= 3.5, 95% CI 1.6-7.6; p= 0.001). Our findings suggest that the codon 52 Da MBL2 variant causing a cysteine &rt; arginine replacement, but not B and C variants producing glycine substitutions, is specifically associated with gastric cancer risk.