Genetic Variants of the TERT Gene and Telomere Length in Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Piotr Macek,
Rafal Poreba,
Pawel Gac,
Katarzyna Bogunia-Kubik,
Marta Dratwa,
Mieszko Wieckiewicz,
Anna Wojakowska,
Monika Michalek-Zrabkowska,
Grzegorz Mazur,
Helena Martynowicz
Affiliations
Piotr Macek
Department of Internal Medicine, Occupational Diseases, Hypertension and Clinical Oncology, Wroclaw Medical University, 213 Borowska St., 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland
Rafal Poreba
Department of Internal Medicine, Occupational Diseases, Hypertension and Clinical Oncology, Wroclaw Medical University, 213 Borowska St., 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland
Pawel Gac
Department of Population Health, Division of Environmental Health and Occupational Medicine, Wroclaw Medical University, Mikulicza-Radeckiego 7, 50-368 Wroclaw, Poland
Katarzyna Bogunia-Kubik
Laboratory of Clinical Immunogenetics and Pharmacogenetics, Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, 50-422 Wroclaw, Poland
Marta Dratwa
Laboratory of Clinical Immunogenetics and Pharmacogenetics, Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, 50-422 Wroclaw, Poland
Mieszko Wieckiewicz
Department of Experimental Dentistry, Wroclaw Medical University, 26 Krakowska St., 50-425 Wroclaw, Poland
Anna Wojakowska
Department of Internal Medicine, Occupational Diseases, Hypertension and Clinical Oncology, Wroclaw Medical University, 213 Borowska St., 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland
Monika Michalek-Zrabkowska
Department of Internal Medicine, Occupational Diseases, Hypertension and Clinical Oncology, Wroclaw Medical University, 213 Borowska St., 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland
Grzegorz Mazur
Department of Internal Medicine, Occupational Diseases, Hypertension and Clinical Oncology, Wroclaw Medical University, 213 Borowska St., 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland
Helena Martynowicz
Department of Internal Medicine, Occupational Diseases, Hypertension and Clinical Oncology, Wroclaw Medical University, 213 Borowska St., 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland
Introduction: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a worldwide breathing disorder that has been diagnosed globally in almost 1 billion individuals aged 30–69 years. It is characterized by repeated upper airway collapses during sleep. Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) is involved in the prevention of telomere shortening. This prospective, observational study aimed to investigate the relationship between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of TERT and the severity of OSA, taking into account hypertension and diabetes prevalence. Methods: A total of 149 patients with OSA were diagnosed using one-night video-polysomnography based on the American Academy of Sleep Medicine guidelines. The TERT SNPs and telomere length (TL) were detected using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Results: Statistical analysis showed that there is no relationship between the rs2853669 and rs2736100 polymorphisms of TERT, and the severity of OSA (p > 0.05). Moreover, no relationship between TL and the severity of OSA was observed. The G allele in the locus of rs2736100 TERT was associated with hypertension prevalence and was more prevalent in hypertensives patients (46.00% vs. 24.49%, p = 0.011). The prevalence of hypertension was higher in patients with the C allele in the locus of rs2853669 than in patients without this allele (50.79% vs. 30.23%, p = 0.010). Moreover, a lower prevalence of diabetes was observed in homozygotes of rs2736100 TERT than in heterozygotes (5.63% vs. 15.38%, p = 0.039). Conclusion: This study showed no relationship between OSA and TERT SNPs. However, SNPs of the TERT gene (rs2736100 and rs2853669) were found to affect arterial hypertension and diabetes prevalence.
