부산대학교 도서관

Background/Aims: A number of genome-wide and candidate gene association studies have identified polymorphisms associated with telomere length in Cauca-sian populations. This study was conducted to determine the impacts of 17 poly-morphisms identified in Caucasians on telomere length in a Korean population. Methods: Ninety-four healthy individuals were enrolled in this study. Relative telomere length of chromosomes from peripheral blood samples was measured using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Results: Two polymorphisms, rs10936599 of MYNN and rs412658 of ZNF676, were found to be associated with telomere length (under dominant model, p = 0.04; under recessive model, p = 0.001). Three polymorphisms, rs2853669, rs7705526, and rs2736108, at the TERT locus were also associated with telomere length (under recessive model, p = 0.01, p = 0.02, and p = 0.01, respectively). The genotypes of the five polymorphisms associated with short telomere length were considered bad genotypes; telomere length was significantly decreased with increasing number of bad genotypes (p = 1.7 × 10-5). Conclusions: We have identified polymorphisms associated with telomere length in a Korean population.