Association between growth differentiation factor 5 rs143383 genetic polymorphism and the risk of knee osteoarthritis among Caucasian but not Asian: a meta-analysis

Correlation of growth differentiation factor-5 + 104T>C polymorphism with the risk of knee, hand, and hip osteoarthritis: a case-control study and meta-analysis based on 47 case-control studies

Osteoarthritis (OA) arises from a intricate interplay of genetic and environmental factors. Numerous studies have explored the link between the growth differentiation factor 5 (GDF-5) +104T>C polymorphism and OA risk, but the findings have been inconclusive. We carried out a case-control study with 704 OA cases and 418 healthy controls. Furthermore, we conducted a meta-analysis by thoroughly searching the literature for relevant studies published until 1 September, 2023. The combined odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals were used to assess the correlation's strength. A total of 47 independent case-control studies, including 17,602 OA cases and 30,947 controls, were analyzed. Of these, 31 studies (11,176 cases, 16,724 controls) focused on knee OA, 8 studies (3,973 cases, 8,055 controls) examined hip OA, and 6 studies (2244 cases, 5965 controls) investigated hand OA. Overall, our findings suggest that the GDF-5 + 104T>C polymorphism has a protectibe role in development of OA in global scale. Subgroup analyses by ethnicity indicated that this genetic variation provides protection against OA in Caucasian, Asian, and African populations. Further subgroup analysis based on the type of OA showed a decreased risk of knee and hand OA associated with this variation, but not for hip OA. Our combined data indicates that the GDF-5 + 104T>C polymorphism offers protection against the development of OA in general, as well as knee and hand OA. Nevertheless, there was no correlation found between this polymorphism and the development of hip OA.

Influence of Different Evolutive Forces on GDF5 Gene Variability

The GDF5 gene is involved in the development of skeletal elements, synovial joint formation, tendons, ligaments, and cartilage. Several polymorphisms are present within the gene, and two of them, rs143384 and 143383, were reported to be correlated with osteoarticular disease or muscle flexibility. The aim of this research is to verify if the worldwide distribution of the rs143384 polymorphism among human populations was shaped by selective pressure, or if it was the result of random genetic drift events. Ninety-four individuals of both the male and female sexes, 18-28 years old, from Sardinia were analyzed. We observed the following genotype frequencies: 28.72% of AA homozygotes, 13.83% of GG homozygotes, and 57.45% of AG heterozygotes. The allele frequencies were 0.574 for allele A and 0.426 for allele G. The relationships between the populations were verified via Multidimensional Scaling (MDS). Our data show (i) a clear heterogeneity within the African populations; (ii) a strong differentiation between the African populations and the other populations; and that (iii) the Sardinian population is placed within the European cluster. To reveal possible traces of selective pressure, the Population Branch Statistic (PBS) was calculated; both the rs143384 and 143383 SNPs have low PBS values, suggesting that there are no signals of selective pressure in those areas of the gene.

Are commercial genetic injury tests premature?

INTRODUCTION

Several direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing companies have emerged that claim to be able to test for susceptibility for musculoskeletal injuries. Although there are several publications on the emergence of this industry, none have critically evaluated the evidence for the use of genetic polymorphisms in commercial tests. The aim of this review was to identify, where possible, the polymorphisms and to evaluate the current scientific evidence for their inclusion.

RESULTS

The most common polymorphisms included COL1A1 rs1800012, COL5A1 rs12722, and GDF5 rs143383. The current evidence suggests that it is premature or even not viable to include these three polymorphisms as markers of injury risk. A unique set of injury-specific polymorphisms, which do not include COL1A1, COL5A1, or GDF5, identified from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) is used by one company in their tests for 13 sports injuries. However, of the 39 reviewed polymorphisms, 22 effective alleles are rare and absent in African, American, and/or Asian populations. Even when informative in all populations, the sensitivity of many of the genetic markers was low and/or has not been independently validated in follow-up studies.

CONCLUSIONS

The current evidence suggests it is premature to include any of the reviewed polymorphisms identified by GWAS or candidate gene approaches in commercial genetic tests. The association of MMP7 rs1937810 with Achilles tendon injuries, and SAP30BP rs820218 and GLCCI1 rs4725069 with rotator cuff injuries does warrant further investigation. Based on current evidence, it remains premature to market any commercial genetic test to determine susceptibility to musculoskeletal injuries.

Osteoarthritis year in review: genetics, genomics and epigenetics

This "year in review" provides a summary of the research findings on the topic of genetics, genomics and epigenetics for osteoarthritis (OA) between Mar 2021-Apr 2022. A search routine of the literature in PubMed for the keyword, osteoarthritis, together with topics on genetics, genomics, epigenetics, polymorphism, DNA methylation, noncoding RNA, lncRNA, proteomics, and single cell RNA sequencing, returned key research articles and relevant reviews. Following filtering of duplicates across search routines, 695 unique research articles and 112 reviews were identified. We manually curated these articles and selected 90 as references for this review. However, we were unable to refer to all these articles, and only used selected articles to highlight key outcomes and trends. The trend in genetics is on the meta-analysis of existing cohorts with comparable genetic and phenotype characterisation of OA; in particular, clear definition of endophenotypes to enhance the genetic power. Further, many researchers are realizing the power of big data and multi-omics approaches to gain molecular insights for OA, and this has opened innovative approaches to include transcriptomics and epigenetics data as quantitative trait loci (QTLs). Given that most of the genetic loci for OA are not located within coding regions of genes, implying the impact is likely to be on gene regulation, epigenetics is a hot topic, and there is a surge in studies relating to the role of miRNA and long non-coding RNA on cartilage biology and pathology. The findings are exciting and new insights are provided in this review to summarize a year of research and the road map to capture all new innovations to achieve the desired goal in OA prevention and treatment.

Genomic Predictors of Brisk Walking Are Associated with Elite Sprinter Status

Brisk walkers are physically more active, taller, have reduced body fat and greater physical fitness and muscle strength. The aim of our study was to determine whether genetic variants associated with increased walking pace were overrepresented in elite sprinters compared to controls. A total of 70 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) previously identified in a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of self-reported walking pace in 450,967 European individuals were explored in relation to sprinter status. Genotyping of 137 Russian elite sprinters and 126 controls was performed using microarray technology. Favorable (i.e., high-speed-walking) alleles of 15 SNPs (FHL2 rs55680124 C, SLC39A8 rs13107325 C, E2F3 rs4134943 T, ZNF568 rs1667369 A, GDF5 rs143384 G, PPARG rs2920503 T, AUTS2 rs10452738 A, IGSF3 rs699785 A, CCT3 rs11548200 T, CRTAC1 rs2439823 A, ADAM15 rs11264302 G, C6orf106 rs205262 A, AKAP6 rs12883788 C, CRTC1 rs11881338 A, NRXN3 rs8011870 G) were identified as having positive associations with sprinter status (p < 0.05), of which IGSF3 rs699785 survived correction for multiple testing (p = 0.00004) and was linked (p = 0.042) with increased proportions of fast-twitch muscle fibers of m. vastus lateralis in physically active men (n = 67). Polygenic analysis revealed that individuals with ≥18 favorable alleles of the 15 SNPs have an increased odds ratio of being an elite sprinter when compared to those with ≤17 alleles (OR: 7.89; p < 0.0001). Using UK Biobank data, we also established the association of 14 favorable alleles with low BMI and fat percentage, 8 alleles with increased handgrip strength, and 7 alleles with increased height and fat-free mass. In conclusion, we have identified 15 new genetic markers associated with sprinter status.

Osteoarthritis year in review: genetics, genomics, epigenetics

OBJECTIVE

In this review, we have highlighted the advances over the past year in genetics, genomics and epigenetics in the field of osteoarthritis (OA).

METHODS

A literature search of PubMed was performed using the criteria: "osteoarthritis" and one of the following terms "genetic(s), genomic(s), epigenetic(s), polymorphism, noncoding ribonucleic acid (RNA), microRNA, long noncoding RNA, lncRNA, circular RNA, RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), single cell sequencing, transcriptomics, or deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) methylation between April 01, 2020 and April 30, 2021.

RESULTS

In total we identified 765 unique publications, which eventually reduced to 380 of relevance to the field as judged by two assessors. Many of these studies included multiple search terms. We summarised advances relating to genetics, functional genetics, genomics and epigenetics, focusing on our personal key papers during the year.

CONCLUSIONS

This year few studies have identified new genetic variants contributing to OA susceptibility, but a focus has been on refining risk loci or their functional validation. The use of new technologies together with investigating the cross-talk between multiple tissue types, greater sample sizes and/or better patient classification (OA subtypes) will continue to increase our knowledge of disease mechanisms and progress towards understanding and treating OA.