No association between estrogen receptor beta polymorphisms and uterine leiomyoma

Numerous candidate genes have been proposed as susceptibility factors for the development of uterine leiomyoma. Interaction of estrogen receptor alpha (ESR1) and estrogen receptor beta (ESR2) plays a pivotal role in tunica muscularis uteri cell proliferation, differentiation, and tumorigenesis of myometrium. To our knowledge, no study has examined the relationship between the ESR2 and uterine leiomyoma. The aim of the study was to evaluate the association of ESR2 polymorphisms with uterine leiomyoma in Chinese women. We investigated two common ESR2 polymorphisms, rs1256049 (G1082A) and rs928554 (Cx + 56 A --> G), to find their association with uterine leiomyoma risk by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism and DNA sequencing method. A total of 150 Chinese women with clinically diagnosed uterine leiomyoma and 150 healthy, normal Chinese women were included in the study. The results suggest that there were no significant differences in the genotype and allele frequencies of ESR2 polymorphisms between uterine leiomyoma patients and controls in Chinese women (p > 0.05). Further studies are still needed to explore the complicated interaction between environmental factors and ESR2 polymorphisms in the risk of uterine leiomyoma, particularly in ethnically different populations.