title: Association Between the Telomerase rs2736098_TT Genotype and a Lower Risk of Chronic Hepatitis B and Cirrhosis in Chinese Males.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is caused by infection of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and liver cirrhosis (LC) is its most common complication. The accumulated evidence indicates a genetic context of HBV infection phenotypes. Here we determine a potential association of CHB/LC with the genetic variant of telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), a key player in aging including immune-senescence.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 227 Chinese CHB patients and 315 sex/age-matched healthy controls. TERT rs2736098 and rs2736100 genotyping was performed using pre-designed TaqMan SNP genotyping assay kits. Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) was determined using quantitative PCR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The rs2736098_CT/CC genotypes were significantly associated with risk of CHB compared to the TT one (OR 2.265, 95% CI 1.202-4.269, P=0.015). A similar association was also found in CHB patients with cirrhosis (CT/CC vs TT: OR 2.398, 95% CI 1.168-4.922, P=0.02). Further analyses showed that the rs2736098_TT genotype difference occurred between male controls and patients (P=0.008) and male CT/CC-carriers exhibited highly increased risk of CHB compared to male controls (CT+CC vs TT, OR 3.182, 95% CI 1.350-7.500, P=0.01). There was no difference in the rs2736100 variants between controls and CHB patients. LTL was not different between cases and controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The TERT rs2736098_TT genotype is associated with a lower CHB and LC risk in Chinese males, which may have implications in CHB pathogenesis and prevention.
authors.affiliation: Central Research Laboratory, The Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, PR China.
authors.forename: Guanghui
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Central Research Laboratory, The Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, PR China.|Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska University Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Xiaotian
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Clinical Laboratory, The Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, PR China.
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Central Research Laboratory, The Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, PR China.
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Central Research Laboratory, The Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, PR China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Xin
authors.affiliation: Central Research Laboratory, The Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, PR China.
authors.forename: Kailin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Central Research Laboratory, The Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, PR China.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Central Research Laboratory, The Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, PR China.
authors.forename: Zhaomin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Central Research Laboratory, The Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, PR China.
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Luan
authors.affiliation: Central Research Laboratory, The Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, PR China.
authors.forename: Yiteng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Shandong University, Jinan, PR China.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Central Research Laboratory, The Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, PR China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.affiliation: Central Research Laboratory, The Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, PR China.|Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska University Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Dawei
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Xu