Vitamin D-Binding Protein and Acute Myeloid Leukemia: A Genetic Association Analysis in Combination with Vitamin D Levels

Abstract

Genetic variations in the vitamin D-binding protein (VDBP) may be associated with the plasma level of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D. Furthermore, vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). This study aimed to examine the potential association of VDBP genetic variants (rs7041 and rs4588) with AML susceptibility. The polymorphisms in the VDBP gene and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were analyzed in 227 AML patients and 240 healthy controls enrolled in this study. Our data revealed that rs4588 CA and AA genotypes were significantly associated with AML susceptibility (OR = 1.483, p = 0.046; OR = 2.154, p = 0.013, respectively) and also with 61.59% vitamin D deficiency in the total group of AML patients. Under the TG co-dominant and dominant models, however, the rs7041 genotypes were significantly associated with AML protection (OR < 0.6; p < 0.05). In addition, vitamin D deficiency was prevalent in vitamin-D-deficient vs. sufficient AML patients who carried rs7041 and rs4588 mutant alleles (OR ≥ 2.2). Indeed, vitamin D deficiency and its interaction with the genetic variants of VDBP could change the risk of AML. Thus, vitamin D deficiency could be considered an important molecular factor in AML risk assessment.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. Mohammad Karimian for his useful information.

Authors’ Contributions

SGH and DJ conceived and designed the study. SGH and NA did the data curation. SGH and DJ conducted the data analysis and drafted the initial manuscript. NA helped with the results interpretation and gave critical comments for the manuscript. All authors contributed to the final version of the manuscript.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate

This case-control study was performed according to the ethical guidelines of the Helsinki Declaration and was approved by the Ethics Committee of North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences (ethical code no. IR.REC.1398.101). Signed informed consent was prepared from all patients (or parents of patients) and healthy individuals before participating in the study.

Data Availability Statement

The datasets used and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Kosar University of Bojnord under Grant number [NO.9906171653].