Functional variants in NOS1 and NOS2A are not associated with progressive hearing loss in Ménière's disease in a European Caucasian population

DNA Cell Biol. 2011 Sep;30(9):699-708. doi: 10.1089/dna.2011.1259. Epub 2011 May 25.

Abstract

Hearing loss in Ménière's disease (MD) is associated with loss of spiral ganglion neurons and hair cells. In a guinea pig model of endolymphatic hydrops, nitric oxide synthases (NOS) and oxidative stress mediate loss of spiral ganglion neurons. To test the hypothesis that functional variants of NOS1 and NOS2A are associated with MD, we genotyped three functional variants of NOS1 (rs41279104, rs2682826, and a cytosine-adenosine microsatellite repeat in exon 1f) and the CCTTT repeat in the promoter of NOS2A gene (rs3833912) in two independent MD sets (273 patients in total) and 550 controls. A third cohort of American patients was genotyped as replication cohort for the CCTTT repeat. Neither allele nor genotype frequencies of rs41279104 and rs2682826 were associated with MD, although longer alleles of the cytosine-adenosine microsatellite repeat were marginally significant (corrected p = 0.05) in the Mediterranean cohort but not in a second Galicia cohort. Shorter numbers of the CCTTT repeat in NOS2A were significantly more frequent in Galicia controls (OR = 0.37 [CI, 0.18-0.76], corrected p = 0.04), but this finding could not be replicated in Mediterranean or American case-control populations. Meta-analysis did not support an association between CCTTT repeats and risk for MD. Severe hearing loss (>75 dB) was also not associated with any functional variants studied. Functional variants of NOS1 and NOS2A do not confer susceptibility for MD.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Base Sequence
  • Binding Sites / genetics
  • Gene Frequency
  • Genetic Variation*
  • Genotype
  • Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / genetics*
  • Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / pathology
  • Humans
  • Meniere Disease / genetics*
  • Meniere Disease / pathology
  • Microsatellite Repeats / genetics
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I / genetics*
  • Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II / genetics*
  • Promoter Regions, Genetic / genetics
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • Spain
  • United States
  • White People / genetics*

Substances

  • NOS1 protein, human
  • NOS2 protein, human
  • Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I
  • Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II