TY  - JOUR
TI  - Single nucleotide polymorphisms: rs833061, rs699947, and rs35569394, and the expression of the vascular endothelial growth factor gene in Moroccan patients with lung cancer
AU  - El Founini, Younes
AU  - Hafidi, Sara
AU  - Dehbi, Hind
AU  - Attaleb, Mohammed
AU  - Karkouri, Mehdi
AU  - Boubia, Souheil
AU  - Ridai, Mohammed
AU  - Guessous, Fadila
AU  - El Mzibri, Mohammed
AU  - Chaoui, Imane
PY  - 2025
JO  - Exploration of Medicine
VL  - 6
SP  - 1001293
DO  - 10.37349/emed.2025.1001293
UR  - https://www.explorationpub.com/Journals/em/Article/1001293
AB  - Aim: Angiogenesis is a universal hallmark of all cancers involving a variety of proteins including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Extensive studies have explored the potential implications of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within VEGF-A in lung cancer (LC) susceptibility, tumor growth, and their effect on the gene expression level. Accordingly, we have planned in the present study to evaluate the prevalence of the -460T/C (rs833061), the -2578C/A (rs699947), and the -2549I/D (rs35569394) SNPs and their association with clinicopathological parameters and to assess their impact on the expression of VEGF-A, VEGFR-1, and VEGFR-2 to be used in the accurate management of LC in Morocco. Methods: A total of 60 fresh biopsies were collected from patients with primary LC and were subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-DNA sequencing of VEGF-A to detect -460T/C (rs833061), -2578C/A (rs699947), and -2549I/D (rs35569394) SNPs. Reverse transcription (RT)-PCR was used to evaluate VEGF-A, VEGFR-1, and VEGFR-2 expression levels. Results: Sequencing analysis revealed the occurrence of -460T/C, -2578C/A, and -2549I/D polymorphisms with different frequencies. VEGF-2549I/D polymorphism was associated with cancer staging for both genotypes and alleles distributions (p < 0.05). Overall, gene expression analysis revealed an overexpression of VEGF-A, VEGFR-1, and VEGFR-2. The expression of VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2 was significantly associated with histological types (p = 0.0114). Interestingly, no significant correlation was obtained between VEGF-A expression and VEGF-A gene polymorphisms (p > 0.05). Conclusions: This study is very informative providing the first insight into polymorphisms and expression of VEGF ligand and its receptors in LC patients from Morocco. Globally, -2549I/D SNP and VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2 expressions appear to be promising prognostic biomarkers and are likely potential keys for better management of LC.
ER  -