The MTHFD1 gene is not involved in cleft lip with or without palate onset among the Italian population

Nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) is the most common orofacial malformation, having a non-Mendelian and multifactorial aetiology. It has been shown that polymorphic variants of genes encoding key proteins of folate and methionine metabolism might be important maternal risk factors for having a child with these craniofacial anomalies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of two polymorphisms of the methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase 1 (MTHFD1) gene, the A1958G and the G401A variants, on the risk of CL/P in the Italian population. A1958G and G401A polymorphism genotyping of MTHFD1 was performed on 216 CL/P triads, (patient and parents), for this study by restriction endonuclease digestion of PCR products. Linkage disequilibrium between markers and disease was tested using both pairwise and haplotype analyses. In our case-parents triad design no significant association between MTHFD1 and the disease is evident. Our data do not support MTHFD1 involvement in CL/P onset among the Italian population.