Open AccessAbsence of association of a single‐nucleotide polymorphism in the TERT‐CLPTM1L locus with age‐related phenotypes in a large multicohort study: the HALCyon programme
Author(s) -
Alfred Tamuno,
BenShlomo Yoav,
Cooper Rachel,
Hardy Rebecca,
Cooper Cyrus,
Deary Ian J.,
Elliott Jane,
Gunnell David,
Harris Sarah E.,
Kivimaki Mika,
Kumari Meena,
Martin Richard M.,
Power Chris,
Sayer Avan Aihie,
Starr John M.,
Kuh Diana,
Day Ian N. M.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
aging cell
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 140
eISSN - 1474-9726
pISSN - 1474-9718
DOI - 10.1111/j.1474-9726.2011.00687.x
Subject(s) - single nucleotide polymorphism , biology , snp , allele , genotype , genetics , locus (genetics) , medicine , oncology , gene
Summary 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.