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Genetic variants in telomere-maintaining genes and skin cancer risk.

ABSTRACT: Telomere-related genes play an important role in maintaining the integrity of the telomeric structure that protects chromosome ends, and telomere dysfunction may lead to tumorigenesis. We evaluated the associations between 39 SNPs, including 38 tag-SNPs in telomere-related genes (TERT, TRF1, TRF2, TNKS2, and POT1) and one SNP (rs401681) in the TERT-CLPTM1L locus which has been identified as a susceptibility locus to skin cancer in the previous GWAS, and the risk of skin cancer in a case-control study of Caucasians nested within the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) among 218 melanoma cases, 285 squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) cases, 300 basal cell carcinoma (BCC) cases, and 870 controls. Of the 39 SNPs evaluated, ten showed a nominal significant association with the risk of at least one type of skin cancer. After correction for multiple testing within each gene, two SNPs in the TERT gene (rs2853676 and rs2242652) and one SNP in the TRF1 gene (rs2981096) showed significant associations with the risk of melanoma. Also, the SNP rs401681 in the TERT-CLPTM1L locus was replicated for the association with melanoma risk. The additive odds ratio (OR) [95% confidence interval (95% CI)] of these four SNPs (rs2853676[T], rs2242652[A], rs2981096[G], and rs401681[C]) for the risk of melanoma was 1.43 (1.14-1.81), 1.50 (1.14-1.98), 1.87 (1.19-2.91), and 0.73 (0.59-0.91), respectively. Moreover, we found that the rs401681[C] was associated with shorter relative telomere length (P for trend, 0.05). We did not observe significant associations for SCC or BCC risk. Our study provides evidence for the contribution of genetic variants in the telomere-maintaining genes to melanoma susceptibility.

SUBMITTER: Nan H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3443196 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Genetic variants in telomere-maintaining genes and skin cancer risk.

Nan Hongmei H Qureshi Abrar A AA Prescott Jennifer J De Vivo Immaculata I Han Jiali J

Human genetics 20101130 3

Telomere-related genes play an important role in maintaining the integrity of the telomeric structure that protects chromosome ends, and telomere dysfunction may lead to tumorigenesis. We evaluated the associations between 39 SNPs, including 38 tag-SNPs in telomere-related genes (TERT, TRF1, TRF2, TNKS2, and POT1) and one SNP (rs401681) in the TERT-CLPTM1L locus which has been identified as a susceptibility locus to skin cancer in the previous GWAS, and the risk of skin cancer in a case-control ...[more]

PMID: 21116649

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Project description:BackgroundTelomeres at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes play a critical role in maintaining the integrity and stability of the genome and participate in the initiation of DNA damage/repair responses.MethodsWe performed a case-control study to evaluate the role of three SNPs (TERT-07, TERT-54 and POT1-03) in telomere maintenance genes previously found to be significantly associated with breast cancer risk. We used sister-sets obtained from the New York site of the Breast Cancer Family Registry (BCFR). Among the 313 sister-sets, there were 333 breast cancer cases and 409 unaffected sisters who were evaluated in the current study. We separately applied conditional logistic regression and generalized estimating equations (GEE) models to evaluate associations between the three SNPs and breast cancer risk within sister-sets. We examined the associations between genotype, covariates and telomere length among unaffected sisters using a GEE model.ResultsWe found no significant associations between the three SNPs in telomere maintenance genes and breast cancer risk by both conditional logistic regression and GEE models, nor were these SNPs significantly related to telomere length. Among unaffected sisters, shortened telomeres were statistically significantly correlated with never hormone replacement therapy (HRT) use. Increased duration of HRT use was significantly associated with reduced telomere length. The means of telomere length were 0.77 (SD = 0.35) for never HRT use, 0.67 (SD = 0.29) for HRT use < 5 yrs and 0.59 (SD = 0.24) for HRT use ≥ 5 yrs after adjusting for age of blood donation and race and ethnicity.ConclusionsWe found that exogenous hormonal exposure was inversely associated with telomere length. No significant associations between genetic variants and telomere length or breast cancer risk were observed. These findings provide initial evidence to understand hormonal exposure in the regulation of telomere length and breast cancer risk but need replication in prospective studies.

Project description:Human pigmentation is a polygenic quantitative trait with high heritability. Although a large number of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been identified in pigmentation genes, very few SNPs have been examined in relation to human pigmentary phenotypes and skin cancer risk. We evaluated the associations between 15 SNPs in 8 candidate pigmentation genes (TYR, TYRP1, OCA2, SLC24A5, SLC45A2, POMC, ASIP and ATRN) and both pigmentary phenotypes (hair color, skin color and tanning ability) and skin cancer risk in a nested case-control study of Caucasians within the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) among 218 melanoma cases, 285 squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) cases, 300 basal cell carcinoma (BCC) cases and 870 common controls. We found that the TYR Arg402Gln variant was significantly associated with skin color (p-value = 7.7 x 10(-4)) and tanning ability (p-value = 7.3 x 10(-4)); the SLC45A2 Phe374Leu variant was significantly associated with hair color (black to blonde) (p-value = 2.4 x 10(-7)), skin color (p-value = 1.1 x 10(-7)) and tanning ability (p-value = 2.5 x 10(-4)). These associations remained significant after controlling for MC1R variants. No significant associations were found between these polymorphisms and the risk of skin cancer. We observed that the TYRP1 rs1408799 and SLC45A2 1721 C>G were associated with melanoma risk (OR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.60-0.98 and OR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.60-0.95, respectively). The TYR Ser192Tyr was associated with SCC risk (OR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.00-1.50). The TYR haplotype carrying only the Arg402Gln variant allele was significantly associated with SCC risk (OR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.04-1.74). The OCA2 Arg419Gln and ASIP g.8818 A>G were associated with BCC risk (OR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.06-2.13 and OR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.53-1.00, respectively). The haplotype near ASIP (rs4911414[T] and rs1015362[G]) was significantly associated with fair skin color (OR, 2.28; 95% CI, 1.46-3.57) as well as the risks of melanoma (OR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.18-2.39) and SCC (OR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.08-2.19). These associations remained similar after adjusting for pigmentary phenotypes and MC1R variants. The statistical power of our study was modest and additional studies are warranted to confirm the associations observed in the present study. Our study provides evidence for the contribution of pigmentation genetic variants, in addition to the MC1R variants, to variation in human pigmentary phenotypes and possibly the development of skin cancer.

Project description:BackgroundTelomeres are repetitive DNA sequences located at the ends of chromosomes, playing a vital role in maintaining chromosomal integrity and stability. Dysregulation of telomeres has been implicated in the development of various cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which is the most common type of lung cancer. Genetic variations within telomere maintenance genes may influence the risk of developing NSCLC. The present study aimed to evaluate the genetic associations of select variants within telomere maintenance genes in a population from Jammu and Kashmir, North India, and to investigate the relationship between telomere length and NSCLC risk.MethodsWe employed the cost-effective and high-throughput MassARRAY MALDI-TOF platform to assess the genetic associations of select variants within telomere maintenance genes in a population from Jammu and Kashmir, North India. Additionally, we used TaqMan genotyping to validate our results. Furthermore, we investigated telomere length variation and its relation to NSCLC risk in the same population using dual-labeled fluorescence-based qPCR.ResultsOur findings revealed significant associations of TERT rs10069690 and POT1 rs10228682 with NSCLC risk (adjusted p-values = 0.019 and 0.002, respectively), while TERF2 rs251796 and rs2975843 showed no significant associations. The TaqMan genotyping validation further substantiated the associations of TERT rs10069690 and rs2242652 with NSCLC risk (adjusted p-values = 0.02 and 0.003, respectively). Our results also demonstrated significantly shorter telomere lengths in NSCLC patients compared to controls (p = 0.0004).ConclusionThis study highlights the crucial interplay between genetic variation in telomere maintenance genes, telomere attrition, and NSCLC risk in the Jammu and Kashmir population of North India. Our findings suggest that TERT and POT1 gene variants, along with telomere length, may serve as potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for NSCLC in this population. Further research is warranted to elucidate the underlying mechanisms and to explore the potential clinical applications of these findings.

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Genetic variants in telomere-maintaining genes and skin cancer risk.

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Genetic variants in telomere-maintaining genes and skin cancer risk.

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