Absence of association of a single-nucleotide polymorphism in the TERT-CLPTM1L locus with age-related phenotypes in a large multicohort study: the HALCyon programme
Year: 2011
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Several age-related traits are associated with shorter telomeres, the structures that cap the end of linear chromosomes. A common polymorphism near the telomere maintenance gene TERT has been associated with several cancers, but relationships with other aging traits such as physical capability have not been reported. As part of the Healthy Ageing across the Life Course (HALCyon) collaborative research programme, men and women aged between 44 and 90 years from nine UK cohorts were genotyped for the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs401681. We then investigated relationships between the SNP and 30 age-related phenotypes, including cognitive and physical capability, blood lipid levels and lung function, pooling within-study genotypic effects in meta-analyses. No significant associations were found between the SNP and any of the cognitive performance tests (e.g. pooled beta per T allele for word recall z-score = 0.02, 95% CI: -0.01 to 0.04, P-value = 0.12, n = 18,737), physical performance tests (e.g. pooled beta for grip strength = -0.02, 95% CI: -0.045 to 0.006, P-value = 0.14, n = 11,711), blood pressure, lung function or blood test measures. Similarly, no differences in observations were found when considering follow-up measures of cognitive or physical performance after adjusting for its measure at an earlier assessment. The lack of associations between SNP rs401681 and a wide range of age-related phenotypes investigated in this large multicohort study suggests that while this SNP may be associated with cancer, it is not an important contributor to other markers of aging.
Source: Aging Cell
Language: English
Subfield: Physiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funders: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Wellcome Trust, National Institute for Health and Care Research, British Heart Foundation, Bupa Foundation, University College London, University of Edinburgh, Health and Safety Executive, University of Bristol, Academy of Finland, Versus Arthritis, Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, National Institutes of Health, Directorate for Biological Sciences, Medical Research Council, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council, World Cancer Research Fund, National Institute on Aging, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Awards: G1137313802, G1167024831, G1269020986, G1466358154, G1492072473, HALCyon Healthy Ageing across the Life Course, G2425175678, Health behaviors over the adult lifecourse and cognitive aging, G2594517499, G269567959, G2719016821, G2751663742, G2824707892, G2953204649, G2953502109, G3251713059, G3349769430, G3747358395, G3812491970, G4522451727, G4641403149, G4746977625, G4856618060, G4950536974, G5208912463, NIHR Senior Investigator Award, G5412976545, G5503240538, G5568298347, A national DNA control series for genetic case-control studies based on the British 1958 birth cohort, G6122601559, G6239859655, G6354209809, G643113813, G6883877472, G690763772, A genome-wide association study of non-pathological cognitive ageing, G7243315025, G7627314639, G7782480062, G7900679853, RENEWAL: Psychosocial and biological factors in the occurrence of cardiovascular disease: the Whitehall II study, Socioeconomic gradient in CHD in early old age, G9000120579, G9000178614
OpenAlex ID: W1754559205