WNT10A polymorphism may be a risk factor for non-syndromic hypodontia.

This study was designed to determine whether polymorphisms in the gene wingless-type MMTV integration site family, member 10A (WNT10A) are associated with non-syndromic hypodontia (tooth agenesis). A case-control study was performed involving 129 subjects with sporadic non-syndromic hypodontia (cases) and 218 healthy individuals (controls). DNA was obtained from whole blood and the ligase detection reaction method was used to analyze two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the WNT10A gene. A significant difference between cases and controls was observed in the allele and genotype frequencies of both SNPs (rs116998555 and rs147680216). For rs116998555, the presence of the T allele (the thymine variant) was associated with tooth agenesis [odds ratio (OR) = 5.722; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 3.053-10.727; P < 0.001], while for rs147680216, the A allele (the adenine variant) correlated with this condition (OR = 2.665; 95%CI = 1.512-4.695; P < 0.001). We provide here the first case-control study evidence that risk of hypodontia may be related to the WNT10A polymorphism. Our results also confirm the importance of the Wnt pathway in tooth development.