Impact of GRM7 gene variations on glioblastoma risk in the Iranian population

The metabotropic glutamate receptor, GRM7 is a gene in the neurotransmitters prognostic signatures. Downregulation of this gene is associated with the progression of glioma tumors and has a negative impact on the immune response.

In the present study, we aim to assess the associations between rs6782011 and rs779867 SNPs within this gene and risk of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) in Iranian population.

There was a noteworthy difference in distribution of genotypes (P value = 0.001) and alleles (P value = 0.0002) of rs779867 between total GBM cases (n = 299) and total normal controls (n = 302). In addition, the significant difference in genotypes and alleles distribution was observed for both male and female GBM cases vs. respective normal controls. For rs6782011 variant, the significant difference in genotypes distribution was observed between male GBM cases (n = 187) vs. respective normal controls (n = 156) (P value = 0.004) and between total GBM cases (n = 299) vs. total normal controls (n = 302) (P value = 0.02). However, there was no significant difference in genotypes distribution between female GBM cases and respective normal controls (P value = 0.1). Distribution of rs6782011 alleles was not different between total GBM cases and normal controls; and between male GBM cases and male normal controls. However, there was a significant difference in alleles distribution between female GBM cases and female normal controls.

Taken together, the mentioned polymorphisms might affect risk of GBM in Iranian population. Future studies are needed to elaborate the underlying mechanism.