NAF1 rs4691896 Is Significantly Associated with Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis in a Chinese Han Population: A Case-Control Study

Candidate gene polymorphisms associated with silicosis and coal workers' pneumoconiosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Silicosis and coal worker's pneumoconiosis primarily result from exposure to silica and coal dust. Despite similar exposure levels, individuals exhibit varying responses. This study aimed to address these gaps to explore the genetic factors influencing the development, severity, and associated complications.

METHODS

A systematic literature search was performed across four databases-PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library-until July, 2023. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were applied to identify candidate genes.

RESULTS

This study involved 83 articles and encompassed 545 individual studies, reviewing a total of 378 gene loci. After rigorous evaluation, we selected 8 candidate genes (TNFα-308, TNFα-238, GSTT1, IL-1α + 4845, IL-1β-511, IL-1β + 3953, IL-1RA + 2018, and IL-6-174) for meta-analysis. The analysis revealed that allele A of TNFα-308, allele A of TNFα-238, and allele C of IL-1RA + 2018 were identified as risk factors for the development of diseases.

CONCLUSIONS

This study established associations between specific genetic polymorphisms (TNFα-308, TNFα-238, and IL-1RA + 2018) and susceptibility to silicosis and coal worker's pneumoconiosis.

The Influence of TEP1 and TERC Genetic Variants on the Susceptibility to Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. According to recent studies, cellular senescence caused by telomere shortening may contribute to the development of MS.

AIM OF THE STUDY

Our aim was to determine the associations of TEP1 rs1760904, rs1713418, TERC rs12696304, rs35073794 gene polymorphisms with the occurrence of MS.

METHODS

The study included 200 patients with MS and 230 healthy controls. Genotyping of TEP1 rs1760904, rs1713418 and TERC rs12696304, rs35073794 was performed using RT-PCR. The obtained data were analysed using the program "IBM SPSS Statistics 29.0". Haplotype analysis was performed using the online program "SNPStats".

RESULTS

The TERC rs12696304 G allele of this SNP is associated with 1.4-fold lower odds of developing MS (p = 0.035). TERC rs35073794 is associated with approximately 2.4-fold reduced odds of MS occurrence in the codominant, dominant, overdominant, and additive models (p < 0.001; p < 0.001; p < 0.001; p < 0.001, respectively). Haplotype analysis shows that the rs1760904-G-rs1713418-A haplotype is statistically significantly associated with 1.75-fold increased odds of developing MS (p = 0.006). The rs12696304-C-rs35073794-A haplotype is statistically significantly associated with twofold decreased odds of developing MS (p = 0.008). In addition, the rs12696304-G-rs35073794-A haplotype was found to be statistically significantly associated with 5.3-fold decreased odds of developing MS (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

The current evidence may suggest a protective role of TERC SNP in the occurrence of MS, while TEP1 has the opposite effect.

Associations of SMAD4 rs10502913 and NLRP3 rs1539019 Polymorphisms with Risk of Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis Susceptibility in Chinese Han Population

Purpose

CWP is an untreatable but preventable fibrotic lung disease caused by the chronic inhalation of coal dust. Genetic factors such as polymorphisms play an important role in the development of CWP. The present study investigated the association between the polymorphisms of SMAD4 and NLRP3 and CWP risk in a Chinese Han population.

Patients and Methods

SMAD4 rs10502913 and NLRP3rs1539019 polymorphisms were examined in 292 CWP subjects and 315 coal dust-exposed controls. The genotypes were analyzed using direct sequencing. The allele and genotype proportion between the cases and controls were compared using the chi-square test.

Results

The AG and GG genotypes of SMAD4 rs10502913 were not associated with altered CWP risk compared with AA genotype (adjusted OR = 1.535 and 1.426, 95% CI = 0.785–3.000 and 0.732–2.781, p = 0.210 and 0.297, respectively). Also, the NLRP3 rs1539019 heterozygous and homozygous variants CA and CC genotypes were not associated with the risk of CWP compared with the AA genotype (adjusted OR = 0.985 and 1.127, 95% CI = 0.652–1.489 and 0.713–1.782, p = 0.944 and 0.608, respectively). In addition, there was no interaction between SMAD4 rs10502913 and NLRP3 rs1539019 genotypes and smoking status on CWP risk in the stratified analyses.

Conclusion

In this present study, SMAD4 rs10502913 and NLRP3 rs1539019 genotypes were not associated with altered CWP risk in the Chinese Han population. Large sample sizes and multicenter studies are needed to elucidate these results in the future.

The leukocyte telomere length, single nucleotide polymorphisms near TERC gene and risk of COPD

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by irreversible airflow obstruction and is associated with chronic local and systemic inflammation and oxidative stress. The enhanced oxidative stress and inflammation have been reported to affect telomere length (TL). Furthermore, a number of SNPs at loci encoding the main components of the telomerase genes, TERT and TERC have been shown to correlate with TL. We aimed to explore the leukocyte TL and genotypes for single nucleotide polymorphisms, rs12696304 (C > G) and rs10936599 (C > T) near TERC in COPD cases and matched healthy controls using q-PCR technologies. Successful assessment of TL was performed for 91 patients and 88 controls. The patients had shorter TL (17919.36 ± 1203.01 bp) compared to controls (21 271.48 ± 1891.36 bp) although not significant (p = 0.137). The TL did not associate with the gender, age, spirometric indexes, smoking habits but tended to correlate negatively with BMI (Rho = − 0.215, p = 0.076) in the controls, but not in COPD patients. The genotype frequencies of the SNPs rs12696304 and rs10936599 were compared between patients and controls and the odds ratios (OR) for developing COPD were calculated. The carriers of the common homozygous (CC) genotypes of the SNPs had higher risk for COPD, compared to carriers of the variants alleles (rs12696304 CG+GG vs. CC; OR: 0.615, 95% CI [0.424–0.894], p = 0.011 and for rs10936599 CT+TT vs. CC OR = 0.668, 95% CI [0.457–0.976], p = 0.044). Analysis on the combined effects of the TERCrs12696304 (C > G) and rs10936599 (C > T) genotypes, CC/CC genotype combination was associated with higher risk for COPD (p < 0.0001) and marginally lower FEV1% pr. in patients with GOLD II (p = 0.052). There was no association between the SNP genotypes and TL. In summary, our results suggest that COPD patients may have shorter TL, and rs12696304 and rs10936599 near TERC may affect the risk of COPD independently of TL.