Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2024 May, 263(1)

Genetic Association between the Risk of Dental Caries and MTR Gene Polymorphism in Chinese Children

Weilian Du,¹ Lingzhen Liu,² Fang Li³ and Shusen Xu³

¹Ningbo Medical Center Lihuili Hospital, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
²Department of Stomatology, Daqing Oilfield General Hospital, Daqing, Heilongjiang, China
³Department of Pediatric Stomatology, Changsha Stomatological Hospital, Changsha, Hunan, China

Early childhood caries (ECC) is common in children. Little is known about the genetic association of the methionine synthesis reductase (MTRR) gene rs1801394 and methionine synthetase (MTR) gene rs1805087 polymorphisms with ECC, which was examined in the Chinese Han population. Genotyping was performed using the buccal mucosa from 150 normal and 150 ECC children. For genotype and allele distribution comparison, Chi-square test and multiple logistic regression analysis were performed. The odd ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated. MTR gene rs1805087 AG genotype distribution in the ECC group was clearly different from the control group (P = 0.029), and the ECC risk in cases with AG genotype was 0.525 times lower than those carrying AA genotype (95% CI = 0.292-0.942). Logistic regression analysis after adjustment for other clinical indicators determined that the MTR gene rs1805087 AG genotype was still strongly associated with susceptibility to ECC (OR = 0.499, 95% CI = 0.273-0.913, P = 0.024). Significant association was also seen for sugary food intakes (OR = 1.965, 95% CI = 1.162-3.321, P = 0.012), tooth brushing (OR = 0.569, 95% CI = 0.356-0.924, P = 0.023) and sex (OR = 0.562, 95% CI = 0.349-0.907, P = 0.018) with ECC risk. No notable genetic association was found between MTRR gene rs1801394 polymorphism and ECC risk. MTR gene rs1805087 polymorphism may aggrandize the susceptibility to ECC, and AA genotype appeared to be a dangerous element for the development of ECC.

Key words —— Chinese Han population; early childhood caries; genetic predisposition; MTR gene

© 2024 Tohoku University Medical Press

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Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2024 May, 263(1), 63-68.

*These two authors contributed equally to this work.

Correspondence: Shusen Xu, Department of Pediatric Stomatology, Changsha Stomatological Hospital, No. 389, Youyi Load, Changsha, Hunan 410000, China.

e-mail: XuShuSen_CSH@163.com