ABSTRACT
AIMS: Cholinergic signaling, particularly in response to non-physiological ligands like nicotine, stimulates carcinogenesis of a variety of tissue types including epithelia of the cervix uteri. Cholinergic signaling is mediated by nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), which are pentamers formed by subsets of 16 nAChR subunits. Recent literature suggests that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of some of these subunits, notably alpha5, are risk factors for developing lung cancer in smokers as well as in non-smokers. MAIN METHODS: We have studied the prevalence of four SNPs in the alpha5, alpha9, and beta1 subunits, which are expressed in cervical cells, in 456 patients with cervical cancers, precursor lesions, and healthy controls from two cohorts in Mexico. KEY FINDINGS: A SNP in the alpha9 subunit, the G allele of rs10009228 (alpha9, A>G) shows a significant trend in the combined cohort, indicating that this allele constitutes a risk factor for neoplastic progression. The A allele of the SNP rs16969968 (alpha5, G>A), which correlates with the development of lung cancer, shows a non-significant trend to be associated with cervical lesions. Two other SNPs, rs55633891 (alpha9, C>T) and rs17856697 (beta1, A>G), did not exhibit a significant trend. SIGNIFICANCE: Our study points to a potential risk factor of cervical carcinogenesis with importance for DNA diagnosis and as a target for intervention.