Genome-Wide Association Study of Relative Telomere Length
Author Information
Author(s): Jennifer Prescott, Peter Kraft, Daniel I. Chasman, Sharon A. Savage, Lisa Mirabello, Sonja I. Berndt, Joel L. Weissfeld, Jiali Han, Richard B. Hayes, Stephen J. Chanock, David J. Hunter, Immaculata De Vivo
Primary Institution: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Hypothesis
We attempted to identify common genetic variants associated with log relative telomere length using genome-wide genotyping data.
Conclusion
The study did not identify genome-wide significant loci for telomere length, but replicated an association with the minor allele variant of rs16847897 at the TERC locus.
Supporting Evidence
- The study replicated the inverse association of log relative telomere length with the minor allele variant [C] of rs16847897 at the TERC locus.
- Common genetic variants associated with telomere length homeostasis have been difficult to detect.
- The study had >80% power to detect β estimates as small as ±0.10 for SNPs with minor allele frequencies of ≥0.15.
Takeaway
The study looked for genes that affect how long our telomeres are, which are important for cell health, but didn't find strong evidence for new genes that do this.
Methodology
A two-stage genome-wide association study (GWAS) was conducted using data from the Nurses' Health Study and the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial.
Potential Biases
Potential biases due to population stratification were addressed by adjusting for principal components of genetic variation.
Limitations
The study was underpowered to detect genome-wide significant associations for SNPs with small effect sizes.
Participant Demographics
Participants included 3,554 individuals from the Nurses' Health Study and the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.003
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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