LRBA Gene Polymorphisms and Risk of Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis: A Case-Control Study from China

The lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-responsive beige-like anchor protein (LRBA) is a member of the WDL-BEACH-WD (WBW) gene family. Defects in this gene are associated with the disordered autoimmunity in various diseases, including pulmonary fibrosis. In this study, we investigated the association between the functional polymorphisms in LRBA and risk of coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) in a Chinese population. Three potentially functional polymorphisms (rs2290846, rs3749574, and rs1782360) in LRBA were genotyped and analyzed in a case-control study, including 703 CWP cases and 705 controls. Genotyping was performed by the ABI 7900HT Real Time PCR system. Our results suggested that genotype rs2290846 AA was significantly associated with decreased risk of CWP (Adjusted OR = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.41-0.92), and the recessive model also supported the protective role of the genotype (Adjusted OR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.40-0.89). Further, the polymorphism of rs2290846 decreased the CWP risk among cases over 27 years of dust exposure (adjusted OR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.28-0.94) and non-smokers (adjusted OR = 0.58, 95% CI = 0.34-1.00). A potential role of rs2290846 AA has been proposed by expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). The present results suggest that LRBA SNPs are associated with CWP susceptibility in a Chinese population. Further studies focused on detailed mechanism or larger cohorts are warranted to validate our findings.