title: Salt-inducible kinase 3, SIK3, is a new gene associated with hearing.
abstract: Hearing function is known to be heritable, but few significant and reproducible associations of genetic variants have been identified to date in the adult population. In this study, genome-wide association results of hearing function from the G-EAR consortium and TwinsUK were used for meta-analysis. Hearing ability in eight population samples of Northern and Southern European ancestry (n = 4591) and the Silk Road (n = 348) was measured using pure-tone audiometry and summarized using principal component (PC) analysis. Genome-wide association analyses for PC1-3 were conducted separately in each sample assuming an additive model adjusted for age, sex and relatedness of subjects. Meta-analysis was performed using 2.3 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) tested against each of the three PCs of hearing ability in 4939 individuals. A single SNP lying in intron 6 of the salt-inducible kinase 3 (SIK3) gene was found to be associated with hearing PC2 (P = 3.7×10(-8)) and further supported by whole-genome sequence in a subset. To determine the relevance of this gene in the ear, expression of the Sik3 protein was studied in mouse cochlea of different ages. Sik3 was expressed in murine hair cells during early development and in cells of the spiral ganglion during early development and adulthood. Our results suggest a developmental role of Sik3 in hearing and may be required for the maintenance of adult auditory function.
authors: Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London, London SE1 7EH, UK.
authors: Lisa E
authors: LE
authors: Wolber
authors: Medical Genetics, Department of Reproductive Sciences, Development and Public Health, IRCCS-Burlo Garofolo Children Hospital, University of Trieste, Trieste 34100, Italy.
authors: Giorgia
authors: G
authors: Girotto
authors: Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases, King's College London, London SE1 1UL, UK.
authors: Annalisa
authors: A
authors: Buniello
authors: Medical Genetics, Department of Reproductive Sciences, Development and Public Health, IRCCS-Burlo Garofolo Children Hospital, University of Trieste, Trieste 34100, Italy.
authors: Dragana
authors: D
authors: Vuckovic
authors: Medical Genetics, Department of Reproductive Sciences, Development and Public Health, IRCCS-Burlo Garofolo Children Hospital, University of Trieste, Trieste 34100, Italy.
authors: Nicola
authors: N
authors: Pirastu
authors: Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases, King's College London, London SE1 1UL, UK.
authors: Beatriz
authors: B
authors: Lorente-Cánovas
authors: Centre for Population Health Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Teviot Place, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, UK.
authors: Igor
authors: I
authors: Rudan
authors: MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK.
authors: Caroline
authors: C
authors: Hayward
authors: Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Split, Split 21000, Croatia.
authors: Ozren
authors: O
authors: Polasek
authors: Institute of Genetics and Biophysics "A. Buzzati-Traverso" CNR, Naples 80131, Italy and.
authors: Marina
authors: M
authors: Ciullo
authors: Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London, London SE1 7EH, UK.
authors: Massimo
authors: M
authors: Mangino
authors: Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London, London SE1 7EH, UK.
authors: Claire
authors: C
authors: Steves
authors: Institute of Population Genetics, National Research Council of Italy, Sassari, Italy.
authors: Maria Pina
authors: MP
authors: Concas
authors: Medical Genetics, Department of Reproductive Sciences, Development and Public Health, IRCCS-Burlo Garofolo Children Hospital, University of Trieste, Trieste 34100, Italy.
authors: Massilimiliano
authors: M
authors: Cocca
authors: Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London, London SE1 7EH, UK.
authors: Tim D
authors: TD
authors: Spector
authors: Medical Genetics, Department of Reproductive Sciences, Development and Public Health, IRCCS-Burlo Garofolo Children Hospital, University of Trieste, Trieste 34100, Italy.
authors: Paolo
authors: P
authors: Gasparini
authors: Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases, King's College London, London SE1 1UL, UK.
authors: Karen P
authors: KP
authors: Steel
authors: Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London, London SE1 7EH, UK, frances.williams@kcl.ac.uk.
authors: Frances M K
authors: FM
authors: Williams
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D003051:Cochlea / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study; D006309:Hearing / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D044465:White People
chemical_list: D011494:Protein Kinases; C509079:SIK3 protein, human