Referenced in: none

Automatically associated channels: Kir1.1 , Kir4.1 , Kv7.1 , Kv7.4

Title: Analysis of gene polymorphisms associated with K ion circulation in the inner ear of patients susceptible and resistant to noise-induced hearing loss.

Authors: Malgorzata Pawelczyk, Lut Van Laer, Erik Fransen, Elzbieta Rajkowska, Annelies Konings, Per-Inge Carlsson, Erik Borg, Guy Van Camp, Mariola Sliwinska-Kowalska

Journal, date & volume: Ann. Hum. Genet., 2009 Jul , 73, 411-21

PubMed link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19523148

Abstract
Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is one of the leading occupational health risks in industrialized countries. It results from an interaction between environmental and genetic factors, however the nature of the genetic factors contributing to NIHL has not yet been clarified. Here, we investigated whether genetic variations in 10 genes putatively involved in the potassium recycling pathway in the inner ear may influence susceptibility to noise. 99 SNPs were genotyped in Polish noise-exposed workers, categorized into susceptible and resistant subjects. The most interesting results were obtained for KCNE1 and KCNQ4 as we replicated associations that were previously reported in a Swedish sample set, hence confirming that they are NIHL susceptibility genes. Additionally we report significant associations in GJB1, GJB2, GJB4, KCNJ10 and KCNQ1, however due to the lack of replication in the Swedish sample set, these results should be seen as suggestive.