Effect of GRM7 polymorphisms on the development of noise-induced hearing loss in Chinese Han workers: a nested case-control study

Abstract

BackgroundNoise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a complex, irreversible disease caused by the interaction of genetic and environmental factors. In recent years, a great many studies have been done to explore the NIHL susceptibility genes among humans. So far, high powerful detections have been founded that genes of potassium ion channel genes (KCNQ4 and KCNE1), catalase (CAT), protocadherin 15 (PCDH15), myosin 14 (MYH14) and heart shock protein (HSP70) which have been identified in more than one population may be associated with the susceptibility to NIHL. As for metabolic glutamate receptor7 gene (GRM7), a lot of researches mainly focus on age-related hearing loss (ARHL) and the results have shown that the polymorphisms of GRM7 are linked to the development of ARHL. However, little is known about the association of GRM7 and the susceptibility to NIHL. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the effect of GRM7 polymorphisms on the susceptibility to NIHL.MethodsA nested case-control study based on the cohort in a Chinese steel factory was implemented in 292 cases and 584 controls matched with the same sex, the age difference ≤ 5 years old, the same type of work, duration of occupational noise exposure ≤2 years. Five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of GRM7 were gained through selecting and genotyping SNPs. Conditional logistic regression analysis was used to assess the main effect of GRM7 polymorphisms on the susceptibility to NIHL and the gene-by-environment interaction. Furthermore, the gene-by-gene interactions were analyzed by generalized multiple dimensionality reduction (GMDR).ResultsThis research discovered for the first time that the mutant allele C in rs1485175 of the GMR7 may decrease individuals’ susceptibility to NIHL. The interaction between rs1485175 and cumulative noise exposure (CNE) at high level was found after the stratification according to CNE (p/pbon = 0.014/0.007, OR = 0.550, 95% CI: 0.340–0.891). Permutation test of GMDR suggested that rs1920109, rs1485175 and rs9826579 in GRM7 might interact with each other in the process of developing NIHL (p = 0.037).ConclusionsThe results suggest that the mutant allele C of rs1485175 in GRM7 may reduce the susceptibility to NIHL in Chinese Han population.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12881-017-0515-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

CLN8 Mutations Presenting with a Phenotypic Continuum of Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis—Literature Review and Case Report

“…The onset is between 2 and 7 years of age, with rapid developmental regression, ataxia, myoclonus and epilepsy, and a prompt visual failure. Subsequent cases were reported in Turkey [ 18 , 22 ], Italy [ 28 ], Germany [ 29 ], Israel [ 30 ], Ireland [ 31 ], Pakistan [ 22 ], Japan [ 32 ], China [ 33 ], and Saudi Arabia [ 34 ], some showing a milder phenotype. A few highly atypical presentations reported thus far include a congenital NCL in an Argentinian female [ 35 ] and a seizure disorder with retinitis pigmentosa but normal cognition in Hispanic siblings [ 36 ].…”

Genetics of age‐related hearing loss

“…The latest study to assess GRM7 risk variants in an ARHL population sample tested four SNPs in elderly Taiwanese and found one associated in a dominant pattern (Chang et al, 2018). Two studies have analyzed GRM7 risk variants in relation to traits linked to ARHL; noise-induced HL in a Han Chinese sample (Yu et al, 2018) and tinnitus and ARHL in a Portuguese sample (Haider et al, 2017).…”

Advances in understanding of presbycusis

“…Studies focusing on GRM7 in several large human cohorts demonstrated its association with ARHL in European (Friedman et al, ; Van Laer et al, ) and American (Newman et al, ) populations but not in Chinese (Luo et al, ). Additionally, in Chinese Han workers, mutant allele C of rs1485175 in GRM7 may reduce susceptibility to noise‐induced hearing loss (Yu et al, ). These findings lend support to the role of glutamate in ARHL, and glutamate transmission may indeed represent a therapeutic target for future treatment of ARHL.…”