Common Variants in CLDN2 and MORC4 Genes Confer Disease Susceptibility in Patients with Chronic Pancreatitis

PLoS One. 2016 Jan 28;11(1):e0147345. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0147345. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

A recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) identified association with variants in X-linked CLDN2 and MORC4, and PRSS1-PRSS2 loci with chronic pancreatitis (CP) in North American patients of European ancestry. We selected 9 variants from the reported GWAS and replicated the association with CP in Indian patients by genotyping 1807 unrelated Indians of Indo-European ethnicity, including 519 patients with CP and 1288 controls. The etiology of CP was idiopathic in 83.62% and alcoholic in 16.38% of 519 patients. Our study confirmed a significant association of 2 variants in CLDN2 gene (rs4409525-OR 1.71, P = 1.38 x 10-09; rs12008279-OR 1.56, P = 1.53 x 10-04) and 2 variants in MORC4 gene (rs12688220-OR 1.72, P = 9.20 x 10-09; rs6622126-OR 1.75, P = 4.04x10-05) in Indian patients with CP. We also found significant association at PRSS1-PRSS2 locus (OR 0.60; P = 9.92 x 10-06) and SAMD12-TNFRSF11B (OR 0.49, 95% CI [0.31-0.78], P = 0.0027). A variant in the gene MORC4 (rs12688220) showed significant interaction with alcohol (OR for homozygous and heterozygous risk allele -14.62 and 1.51 respectively, P = 0.0068) suggesting gene-environment interaction. A combined analysis of the genes CLDN2 and MORC4 based on an effective risk allele score revealed a higher percentage of individuals homozygous for the risk allele in CP cases with 5.09 fold enhanced risk in individuals with 7 or more effective risk alleles compared with individuals with 3 or less risk alleles (P = 1.88 x 10-14). Genetic variants in CLDN2 and MORC4 genes were associated with CP in Indian patients.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Claudins / genetics*
  • Female
  • Gene-Environment Interaction
  • Genetic Association Studies
  • Genetic Predisposition to Disease
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Nuclear Proteins / genetics*
  • Pancreatitis, Chronic / genetics*
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
  • Risk
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • CLDN2 protein, human
  • Claudins
  • MORC4 protein, human
  • Nuclear Proteins

Grants and funding

This work was supported by "Genome Wide Association Study of Chronic Pancreatitis" (GAP-83) funded by Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and "Center for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease Research" (CARDIOMED) (BSC-0122-3), funded by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Government of India.