LRRC4 haplotypes are associated with pituitary adenoma in a Chinese population

Pituitary adenoma results from accumulation of multiple genetic and/or epigenetic aberrations such as GNAS, MEN1, CNC, and FIPA. LRRC4 is relatively tissue-specific expressed gene in the normal brain and downregulated expression in glioma (87.5 %), meningioma (80.9 %), and pituitary adenoma (85.5 %). It has been suggested that the aberrant expression of LRRC4 contributes to tumorigenesis in glioma. However, little is known yet about association between LRRC4 and risk of pituitary adenoma. In this study, we genotyped three LRRC4 haplotype-tagging SNPs (htSNP) by direct sequencing in case–control studies, which included 183 Han Chinese patients diagnosed with pituitary adenoma and 183 age-, gender-matched, and geographically matched Han Chinese controls. Haplotypes were reconstructed according to the genotyping data and linkage disequilibrium status of the htSNP. We observed statistically significant differences regarding the genotype TT + CT of rs6944446 in the NCA. Haplotype AC of rs3823994–rs6944446 is suggested to have a protective effect in the development of pituitary adenoma (OR 0.339; 95 % CI 0.123–0.934). However, haplotype GT of rs3808058–rs6944446 (OR 1.575; 95 % CI 1.048–2.368) and AGT of rs3823994–rs6944446–rs3808058 (OR 1.673; 95 % CI 1.056–2.651) might be a risk factor for pituitary adenoma development. In a brief, the results support the hypothesis that polymorphisms or haplotypes in the LRRC4 may have important research significance and could be used to predict the risk of pituitary adenoma.