Non-coding Single Nucleotide Variants of Renin and the (Pro)renin Receptor are Associated with Polygenic Diseases in a Bangladeshi Population

The non-linear relationship between triglyceride-glucose index and risk of chronic kidney disease in hypertensive patients with abnormal glucose metabolism: A cohort study

Background

Triglyceride–glucose (TyG) index has been reported to be associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, few studies have focused on TyG index and the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Thus, this study aims to explore the relationship between TyG index and CKD.

Methods

A total of 2,033 participants with hypertension between January 2012 and May 2019 were included in the longitudinal observational study. All patients are grouped according to the TyG index quartile. CKD was defined as estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) < 60 ml/min per 1.73 m2 and/or positive proteinuria. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were used to investigate the relationship between TyG index and CKD.

Results

During a median follow-up of 31 months, 302 participants developed CKD, with a mean age of 55.5 years and median TyG of 8.94. Compared with those in the lowest quartile of TyG index, participants in the highest quartile of TyG index exhibited 1.63-fold higher hazard ratio (95% CI: 1.14–2.33, P = 0.007) for presence of CKD. And restricted cubic spline analysis showed the relationship between TyG index and CKD is non-linear (P non-linearity = 0.021). The hazard ratio for CKD first fell and after rising until around 8.94 of TyG index and started to increase rapidly afterward (P for TyG < 0.001).

Conclusion

Higher TyG index is associated with the increased risk for CKD. Early intervention of metabolic factors may prevent the occurrence of CKD, thereby reducing the incidence of CVD and premature death.

Stress hormone biosynthesis-based genes and lifestyle moderated the association of noise exposure with blood pressure in a cohort of Chinese tobacco factory workers: A cross-sectional analysis

When evaluating noise-related cardiovascular risk, noise is generally solely assessed as the major stressor. However, cardiovascular effect of other simultaneous exposure events, such as unhealthy lifestyle and genetic variation, is easily neglected. The aim of this study is to estimate the combined effect of noise and lifestyle on blood pressure alteration, particularly under different genetic background. This study included 536 workers from a tobacco factory in Wuhan, China, who were divided into high exposure group and low exposure group according to noise measurement in their working area. All participants took annual physical examination and questionnaire survey to provide information on individual systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) and lifestyle (smoking, drinking and physical activity). Single nucleotide polymorphism at genes related to stress hormone production were determined. Moderated moderation models were constructed to investigate the interaction effect of noise exposure and lifestyle factors on blood pressure with regard to different genetic background. We identified an expected trend in association between noise exposure and SBP among active smokers (P = 0.086). The moderated moderation analysis showed significant three-way interaction effect (COMT rs4680 × smoking status × noise exposure levels) on SBP or DBP (both P < 0.05). For COMT rs4680 GA+AA genotype carriers, active smoking significantly moderated the association between noise exposure and SBP or DBP (both P < 0.05). The results indicated that for COMT rs4680 A allele carriers, tobacco and noise exposure contribute collectively to blood pressure alteration, supporting that stress hormone production may play a certain role in the smoke-and-noise-induced cardiovascular effect.

MNS16A VNTR polymorphism of human telomerase gene: Elucidation of a gender specific potential allele associated with type 2 diabetes in Bangladeshi population

BACKGROUND

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a multifactorial disorder that affects multi-organ and can alter telomerase (encoded by hTERT gene) activity and thus, may affect telomere length. The variable number of tandem repeats MNS16A in hTERT gene facilitates extension of telomeres by regulating telomerase. In the present study, genetic analysis of MNS16A tandem repeats in hTERT gene was performed with the aim of finding out any association of allelic and genotypic variations with the risk of T2D in Bangladeshi population.

METHODS

A total of unrelated 395 individuals with T2D and 247 healthy individuals were included in the study. The genotypic and allelic frequencies were determined using allele specific polymerase chain reaction. The association of allelic and genotypic frequencies with risk of T2D was analyzed using logistic regression analysis on the basis of odds ratio at 95% confidence interval. Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) test was performed to evaluate the uniformity of the genotypic frequencies and deviation from the HWE was tested using Chi-square test.

RESULTS

Logistic regression analyses revealed significant association of short allele containing 243 bp (OR: 1.37 and p = 0.03) with T2D, when the long alleles (commonly found) were considered as reference. The heterozygous genotype 272/302 was significantly associated with the decreased risk of T2D (OR: 0.33, p = 0.001). The combined results of genotypes indicated that the MNS16A polymorphism was significantly associated with the increased risk of T2D under the dominant model (LL vs SL + SS; OR: 2.62, p < 0.0001). Interestingly, short allele 243 was associated with the risk of disease only in male population (OR: 1.62, p = 0.02). The genotype 272/302 was also found to be associated with the decreased risk of T2D when respective data for male was analyzed individually.

CONCLUSIONS

We have identified four variable number of tandem repeats with varying patterns of association with T2D in Bangladeshi population and to extend our knowledge of understanding regarding these VNTRs, further large-scale studies are warranted.