Single‐nucleotide polymorphism rs948854 in human galanin gene and multiple sclerosis: a gender‐specific risk factor

Abstract

We performed comparative analyses of the genotype distribution and allelic frequencies of the rs948854 polymorphism (G/A) in the galanin gene's promoter in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and in healthy matched controls. In total 111 patients and 115 control subjects were included. The analyses revealed that the presence of the minor allele (G) increased susceptibility to MS in men (OR 5 2.49, P 5 0.008) but not in women. The presence of the G allele in men was also significantly associated with the late onset of MS. Furthermore, rs948854 polymorphism affected the rate of MS progression depending on the sex of the patients. In woman (typically slowly progressing), the percentage of patients with the slow (<0.5 EDSS score per year) progression rate was significantly reduced (v 2 5 5.7, P 5 0.017) in the minor allele carriers group (52.6%), in comparison with the wild-type carriers (83.9%). In men (typically quickly progressing), the number of patients with fast progression rate ( 0.75 EDSS score per year) tended to increase in the minor allele carriers group (50%) compared with number of patients with the wild-type carriers (31.3%). These data demonstrate for the first time an association between rs948854 polymorphism and multiple sclerosis and, further, that this association is sex specific. They also point to diagnostic and prognostic benefits of genetic screening of patients with multiple sclerosis. V C 2016Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Sex-dependent effect of APOE on Alzheimer's disease and other age-related neurodegenerative disorders

“…rs429358 ε2 associated with reduced disease severity in females (Kantarci et al, 2004) (Lioudyno et al, 2017) IFNG rs2069727 Increased risk in males; increased IFNG expression (Kantarci et al, 2005;Kantarci et al, 2008) 3' (325)*A Continued mitotic gene aurora kinase C (AURKC) is hypomethylated in LOAD, leading to upregulation of AURKC (Mano et al, 2017). This same CpG island is hypermethylated in females compared to males with LOAD, and it also becomes hypomethylated as the number of APOE ε4 alleles increases (Mano et al, 2017).…”

Sex/gender influences on the nervous system: Basic steps toward clinical progress

“…Explicating the underlying mechanisms of sex differences in these immune-mediated diseases represents a rich opportunity for exploration and discovery. The research presented in Single nucleotide polymorphism rs948854 in human galanin gene and multiple sclerosis: a gender-specific risk factor (Lioudyno et al, 2017) is one example of how genetics may play a role in understanding this disease. The research reviewed and highlighted in Sex differences in neuroimmunity and pain (Rosen et al, 2017), The immune system as a novel regulator of sex differences in brain and behavioral development (Nelson and Lenz, 2017), and (Putative) Sex differences in neuroimmune modulation of memory (Tronson and Collette, 2017), along with the hypotheses generated by that research, may shed light on the answers or the methods that should be used in the approach.…”