Promoter Polymorphisms of ST3GAL4 and ST6GAL1 Genes and Associations with Risk of Premalignant and Malignant Lesions of the Cervix

Sialyltransferase gene expression is altered in several cancers, including examples in the cervix. Transcriptional regulation of the responsible genes depends on different promoters. We aimed to determine the association of single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the B3 promoter of the ST3GAL4 gene and the P1 promoter of the ST6GAL1 gene with cervical premalignant lesions or cervical cancer. A blood sample and/or cervical scrapes were obtained from 104 women with normal cytology, 154 with premalignant lesions and 100 with cervical cancer. We also included 119 blood samples of random donors. The polymorphisms were identified by sequencing from PCR products. For the B3 promoter, a fragment of 506 bp (from nucleotide -408 to +98) was analyzed, and for the P1 promoter a 490 bp (-326 to +164) fragment. The polymorphism analysis showed that at SNP rs10893506, genotypes CC and CT of the ST3GAL4 B3 promoter were associated with the presence of premalignant lesions (OR=2.89; 95%CI 1.72-4.85) and cervical cancer (OR=2.23; 95%CI 1.27-3.91). We detected only one allele of each polymorphism in the ST6GAL1 P1 promoter. We did not detect any genetic variability in the P1 promoter region in our study population. Our results suggest that the rs10893506 polymorphism -22C/T may increase susceptibility to premalignant and malignant lesions of the cervix.