This study aimed to investigate the associations among the levels of plasma atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and electrolytes and essential hypertension (EH) in Uygur, Han and Kazakh populations in Xinjiang. A total of 724 hypertensive participants of different ethnicities from Xinjiang (208 Uygur, 287 Han and 229 Kazakh) and 741 normal controls (208 Uygur, 267 Han and 266 Kazakh) were enrolled. The associations of ANP with serum potassium, serum sodium and blood pressure were assessed. In the normal control (NT) group, the concentration of ANP was higher in the Uygur population than in the Han population, and the concentration in the Han population was higher than that in the Kazakh population (P<0.05). In the EH group, the serum potassium levels of the Uygur and Han populations were higher than that of the Kazakh population (P<0.05). The ANP concentration in the Uygur ethnic group was higher than that in the Han population, which was in turn higher than that in the Kazakh participants (P<0.05). In the Kazakh population, the serum potassium level was significantly lower in the EH group compared with that in the NT group (P<0.05). The serum potassium level was significantly lower and the ANP concentration significantly higher in the EH group compared with those of NT groups in the Uygur and Han populations (P<0.05). Age and body mass index (BMI) were associated with hypertension in the Uygur, Han and Kazakh populations. Low serum potassium may be a risk factor of hypertension in individuals of Uygur and Kazakh ethnicity. Plasma ANP may be a regulatory factor involved in the development of hypertension in Uygur and Han populations.

AIM: To investigate the relationship between p53 codon 72 polymorphism and human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16 infection in Kazakh's esophageal cancer (EC) in Xinjiang, China. METHODS:Encoding regions of p53 codon 72 and HPV-16 E6 were amplified by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods using pairs of primary esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) tissue and corresponding normal mucosa, which were collected from 104 patients of Kazakh in Xinjiang, China. RESULTS:Only arginine allele was detected in 70.1% (39/55) of HPV-16-E6-positive cases but only in 40.8% (20/49) of HPV-16-E6-negative cases (P<0.05; OR, 3.53; 95% CI, 1.57-7.98). In contrast, such a significant correlation between p53 polymorphism and HPV infection was not evident in corresponding normal mucosae. The allele frequency of Arg allele in cancer cases (0.68) was higher than that in normal mucosa samples (0.54) (P<0.05; OR, 1.80; 95% CI, 1.21-2.69). CONCLUSION: p53 codon 72Arg homozygous genotype is one of the high-risk genetic factors for HPV-associated SCC of Kazakh. Individuals carrying Arg allele compared to those with Pro allele have an increased risk for esophageal SCC.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association between xeroderma pigmentosum group C (XPC) polymorphisms and pancreatic cancer (PC) risk. A total of 7 XPC tagging SNPs (tag-SNPs) were selected from the International HapMap Project Databases (rs2228001A/C, rs2470353G/C, rs2228000C/T, rs3731114C/G, rs3729587G/C, rs2607775C/G and rs3731055G/A) and were genotyped in 205 patients with PC and 230 non-cancer control subjects using a SNaPshot assay. The C allelic gene frequency of rs2470353 was higher in patients with PC compared with that in the control group (P=0.003). Compared with the GG gene type, PC risk was increased in subjects with GC and GC+CC gene types (P=0.012 and P=0.006, respectively). PC risk increased 3.505-fold for the subjects who were heavy smokers (tobacco, ≥25 packets/year) with the GC+CC gene type (P=0.008). The G allelic gene frequency of rs2607775 was higher in PC patients compared with that in the control group (P=0.003). Compared with the CC gene type, PC risk increased in subjects with CG and CG+GG gene types (P=0.013 and P=0.005, respectively). Furthermore, PC risk increased 3.950-fold in subjects who were heavy smokers (tobacco, ≥25 packets/year) with the CG+GG gene type (P=0.001). Haplotype analysis further revealed that the CCC haplotype of rs2228000, rs3731114 and rs3729587 increased PC risk (odds ratio, 1.610; 95% confidence interval, 1.035–2.481; P=0.034). The present study revealed that XPC gene polymorphisms could increase the risk of PC in the study population, particularly among heavy smokers.

This study aimed to determine the association between the polymorphisms and haplotypes in the xeroderma pigmentosum group D (XPD) gene and the risk of pancreatic cancer in the Chinese Han population. SNaPshot was used for genotyping six SNP sites of the XPD gene. Comparisons of the correlations between different genotypes in combination with smoking and the susceptibility to pancreatic cancer were performed. Individual pancreatic cancer risk in patients who carry mutant C alleles (AC, CC, and AC+CC) at rs13181 increased (p < 0.05). Taking non-smoking individuals who carry the AA genotype as a reference, and non-smoking individuals who carry mutant allele C (AC+CC), the risk of pancreatic cancer increased by 3.343 times in individuals who smoked ≥ 20 cigarettes daily, 3.309 times in individuals who smoked ≥ 14 packs per year, 5.011 times in individuals who smoked ≥ 24 packs per year, and 4.013 times in the individuals who smoked ≥ 37 packs per year (P < 0.05). In addition, haplotype analysis revealed that haplotype AGG, which comprised rs13181, rs3916874 and rs238415, was associated with a 1.401-fold increase in pancreatic cancer risk (p < 0.05). We conclude that the polymorphism of XPD Lys751Gln (rs13181) in combination with smoking contributes to increased risk of pancreatic cancer in the Chinese Han population. Haplotype AGG might be a susceptibility haplotype for pancreatic cancer.

BackgroundThe association of genetic polymorphisms of klotho gene with aging has not been thoroughly examined. Previous studies showed that longevity in the Uygurs was considerably greater than in Kazaks in Xinjiang. This study aimed to investigate the difference of renal function and Klotho gene polymorphisms between Kazak and Uygur normal populations in Xinjiang, China.Material/MethodsA total of 249 Uygur and 386 Kazak clinically normal subjects were included in this study. Four single-nucleotide polymorphisms (rs1207568, rs564481, rs9527025, and rs9536314) of the klotho gene were genotyped using the ABI SNaPshot method. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated according to the Chinese simplified MDRD equation.ResultsThere were significant differences between Kazak and Uygur healthy populations in both allele frequencies and genotype distributions in rs9527025 and rs9536314 (P<0.05, respectively). When the subjects were divided into 2 groups according to the genotypes of the klotho gene polymorphism, in the GA+AA genotype distributions of the rs1207568, the differences I serum creatinine and estimated glomerular filtration rate between the Kazak and Uygur groups were statistically significant (P<0.05, respectively). In CC genotype of rs564481, serum creatinine was significantly higher in Kazaks compared with Uygurs (P<0.05). In GG genotype of rs9527025, serum creatinine was significantly higher in the Kazak group compared with the Uygur group (P<0.05), as well as in CG+CC genotype of rs9527025 (P<0.05). Serum creatinine was significantly higher in the Kazak group compared with the Uygur group in TT genotype of rs9536314 (P<0.05), as was GT+GG genotype of rs9536314. Haplotype analysis indicated that the frequencies of ACGT, GTGT, and GCCG haplotypes were significantly different between Kazak and Uygur healthy populations (P=0.04, P=0.018, P=0.000, respectively).ConclusionsSignificant differences in klotho gene rs9527025 and rs9536314 polymorphisms were found between the Uygur and Kazak populations.