Role of miR-149C>T polymorphisms on the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in a Chinese population.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are thought to play a role in cancer development. We conducted a case-control study to investigate the association between polymorphisms in miR-149C>T and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk. Duplex polymerase chain reaction with the confronting 2-pair primers were taken to genotype miR-149C>T. The association between genotype frequencies of miR-149C>T and risk of HCC was estimated as odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) using conditional regression analysis. Logistical regression analysis showed that the miR-149 CC genotype and C allele were associated with risk of HCC, with adjusted ORs (95%CI) of 2.07 (1.32-3.26) and 1.42 (1.06-2.12), respectively. Using the TT+TC genotype as a reference, individuals carrying the CC genotype were associated with non-significant increased risk of HCC, adjusted OR (95%CI) of 1.37 (0.91-2.07). Subgroup analysis showed that HBV-infected subjects carrying the miR-149 TC+CC genotype (OR=5.85, 95%CI=2.49-13.77) had an increased risk of HCC. In summary, our study found that miRNA-149C>T polymorphism is associated with risk of HCC, especially in HBV-infected patients.

Leaf Rust Resistance of Spring, Facultative, and Winter Wheat Cultivars from China.

Leaf rust, caused by Puccinia triticina, is an important disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum) in China. Sixty-one spring and 102 facultative or winter growth habit wheat cultivars from China and a set of testers, carrying named Lr genes, were evaluated for resistance at the seedling growth stage with an array of Mexican Puccinia triticina races. Variation in seedling infection types of the cultivars was compared with that of the testers, and genes conferring low infection types were postulated. In total, nine named genes, Lr1 (in 13 cultivars), Lr3 (12), Lr3bg (2), Lr10 (1), Lr13 (4), Lr14a (1), Lr16 (49), Lr23 (9), and Lr26 (81), were identified. Thirty-one cultivars displayed intermediate reactions to one or more races that could not be attributed to any named gene. Twenty-eight spring cultivars were also evaluated at two field sites in Mexico using two common races. About half of them displayed good to moderate adult resistance that may be partly due to the presence of slow rusting gene Lr34 in at least seven cultivars. Diversity in adult plant responses of these wheats indicated the presence of additional slow rusting genes. Presence of 1B.1R translocation in 12 wheat cultivars, supposedly derived from intergeneric crosses involving T. durum, Haynaldia villosa, and Avena fatua, indicated that their pedigrees were incorrect.