Association between bone marrow stromal cell antigen 1 gene polymorphisms and the susceptibility to Parkinson's disease: a meta-analysis

A number of studies have investigated the association between Parkinson's disease (PD) and genetic polymorphisms of bone marrow stromal cell antigen 1 (BST-1). However, the results to date have been conflicting. In this study a meta-analysis was performed to assess the association between BST-1 polymorphisms and PD. Previous relevant studies were identified from Medline, Embase and Cochrane databases, among which the studies evaluating the association of BST-1 polymorphisms with risk of PD were used in the meta-analysis. Summary odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were determined for different genetic models using meta-analytic methods. Subgroup analysis was performed based on study designs and participant ethnicity, and sensitivity analysis was also performed. Eleven studies comprising 11,070 cases and 19,169 controls were included in this meta-analysis. ORs and 95% CIs were used to assess the strength of association. The rs4698412 variant (G→A) showed a significant summary OR of 1.12 (95% CI: 1.05-1.20; P=0.001) in an allelic model. This significant association was also observed in the subgroup analysis based on participants' ethnicity and study designs. The pooled OR of the rs11724635 variant (C→A) indicated a non-significant association with PD in a recessive model (OR, 1.16, 95% CI: 0.97-1.40; P=0.112), dominant model (OR, 1.10, 95% CI: 0.86-1.41; P=0.458) and allelic model (OR, 1.10, 95% CI: 0.95-1.27; P=0.224). Although the rs11931532 variant (T→C) did not show association with PD (OR, 0.99, 95% CI: 0.85-1.15; P=0.9), the pooled estimation of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) showed a significant connection with PD (OR, 1.19, 95% CI: 1.08-1.31; P=0.001). Sensitivity analysis supported these findings, and no evidence of publication bias was observed in the meta-analysis. Our studies suggested that the rs4698412 variant of BST-1 may increase the PD susceptibility.