Association between the ELAVL1 gene single nucleotide polymorphisms and the Genetic Susceptibility to cervical cancer by high resolution melting in a Tunisian population

Abstract Background: Human papillomavirus infection is the major cause of cervical cancer, but only few cases develop into cancer. Although, HuR (ELAVL1) gene has been implicated in the oncogenesis of certain cancers. However, the correlation between the ELAVL1 gene and the risk of cervical cancer in Tunisian women remains unclear. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of ELAVL1 gene polymorphisms (SNPs) in cervical cancer development.Method: ELAVL1 gene SNPs: ELAVL1 rs12983784 T>C, ELAVL1 rs14394 T>C, ELAVL1 rs74369359 G>T, ELAVL1 rs35986520 G>A, ELAVL1 rs10402477 C>T, ELAVL1 rs12985234 A>G, ELAVL1 rs2042920 T>G, were genotyped by High resolution melting (HRM). SHEsis online software was used to perform linkage disequilibrium (LD) and haplotype analyses. Results: Comparing the cervical cancer patients with healthy control participants, the TC genotype of rs12983784 SNP (P=0.017, OR = 2.78, 95% CI = 1.2~6.45), the GT genotype of the rs74369359 SNP (P=0.004, OR = 9.4, 95% CI = 1.73~16.96) and the CT genotype of the rs10402477 SNP (P=0.002, OR = 5.89, 95% CI = 1.89~18.36) were associated with increased cervical cancer risk. TT genotype of rs12983784 SNP (P=0.005), GG genotype of the rs74369359 SNP (P=0.000) and CC genotype of the rs10402477 SNP (P=0.000) were considered as protective factors against cervical cancer in the Tunisian population. The haplotype analysis of the 7 SNPs of ELAVL1 gene suggested that “C C G G C A G” (P=0.02), “T T G G T A T” (P=0.01) and “T T T G C A T” (P=0.002) were a significant risk factor for cervical cancer. However, “TCGACAT” (P=0.04) and “TTGGCAT” (P=0.04) participated in the decrease of cervical cancer disease.The frequency of ELAVL1 haplotype rs10402477-rs2042920 TT was significantly higher in the cases group than in the control group (P=0.0001).Thus, this genotype increases cervical cancer risk among Tunisian women. Conclusion: The results of our study indicated that genetic variants in the ELAVL1 gene might be associated with susceptibility to cervical cancer in the Tunisian population.