Association between miR-137 polymorphism and risk of schizophrenia: a meta-analysis.

miR-137, a brain-enriched microRNA, is involved in the control of neuronal proliferation, differentiation, and dendritic arborization, all of which are important for proper neurogenesis and relevant to schizophrenia. miR-137 is also known to regulate many genes implicated in schizophrenia risk. Although reports have associated the miR-137 polymorphism rs1625579 with this disease, their results have been inconsistent. The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the relationship between rs1625579 and schizophrenia. Data were obtained from an electronic database, and pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were used to test the association using the RevMan 5.3 software. Twelve case-control studies comprising 11,583 cases and 14,315 controls were included. An estimated lambda value of 0.46 was recorded, suggesting that a codominant model of inheritance was most likely. A statistically significant association was established under allelic (T vs G: OR = 1.15, 95%CI = 1.10-1.21, P < 0.001) and homogeneous codominant models (TT vs GG: OR = 1.32, 95%CI = 1.13-1.54, P < 0.001), but no such relationship was detected using the heterogeneous codominant model (GT vs GG: OR = 1.14, 95%CI = 0.97-1.34, P = 0.11). This meta-analysis demonstrates that the rs1625579 miR-137 genetic variant significantly increases schizophrenia risk.

Osteoprotegerin polymorphisms in Chinese Han patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

In order to investigate the association between osteoprotegerin (OPG) gene polymorphisms and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), we studied OPG rs3102735 T/C and rs2073618 G/C polymorphisms in a Chinese Han population comprising 574 patients with RA and 804 controls. Genotyping by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) was conducted. Our data indicated that OPG rs3102735 T/C and rs2073618 G/C polymorphisms were not associated with the risk of RA. However, among older patients (≥55 years), patients with the OPG rs3102735 TC (TC vs TT: OR = 0.68, 95%CI = 0.49­0.96, P = 0.029) and TC/CC (TC+CC vs TT: OR = 0.69, 95%CI = 0.49­0.96, P = 0.026) genotypes showed a significantly lower risk of RA than patients with the TT genotype, while patients with the OPG rs2073618 GC (GC vs GG: OR = 1.53, 95%CI = 1.13­2.07, P = 0.006) and GC/CC (GC+CC vs GG: OR = 1.43, 95%CI = 1.07­1.92, P = 0.015) genotypes showed a significantly higher risk of RA than patients with the GG genotype. We also found a significantly increased risk of RA associated with the OPG rs2073618 GC (GC vs GG: OR = 1.44, 95%CI = 1.07­1.93, P = 0.018) and GC/CC (GC+CC vs GG: OR = 1.39, 95%CI = 1.04­1.86, P = 0.024) genotypes among functional class III+IV patients. Our results were obtained from only a moderate-sized sample and, thus, a larger study with a more diverse ethnic population is needed to confirm these results.