Human Molecular Genetics Advance Access published online on February 24, 2008
Human Molecular Genetics, doi:10.1093/hmg/ddn038
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A meta-analysis of European and Asian cohorts reveals a global role of a functional SNP in the 5' UTR of GDF5 with osteoarthritis susceptibility
1 University of Oxford, Institute of Musculoskeletal Sciences, Botnar Research Centre, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, Oxford, UK 2 Laboratory for Statistical Analysis, SNP Research Center, RIKEN, Tokyo 108-8639, Japan 3 Molecular Epidemiology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands 4 The School of Translational Medicine, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK 5 Laboratorio de Investigacion and Rheumatology Unit, Hospital Clinico Universitario de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela, Spain 6 Dept. of Biology, University of Thessalia Medical School, Larissa, Greece 7 Institute for Biomedical Research and Technology, Larissa, Greece 8 Dept. of Orthopaedics, University of Thessalia Medical School, Larissa, Greece 9 Rheumatology and Dept. Clinical Epidemiology, Leiden, The Netherlands 10 The Center of Diagnosis and Treatment for Joint Disease, Drum Tower Hospital Affiliated to Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, China 11 Academic Rheumatology, University of Nottingham, City Hospital, Nottingham, UK 12 Laboratory for Bone and Joint Diseases, SNP Research Center, RIKEN, Tokyo, Japan
* To whom correspondence should be addressed at: Laboratory for Bone and Joint Diseases, SNP Research Center, Riken, 4-6-1 Shirokanedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8639, Japan. Tel/Fax: +81 354495393; email sikegawa{at}ims.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Received December 12, 2007; Revised February 2, 2008; Accepted February 2, 2008
We have performed a meta-analysis combining data for over 11,000 individuals. It provides compelling evidence for a positive association between a functional SNP in the 5' UTR of GDF5 (+104T/C; rs143383) and osteoarthritis (OA) in European and Asian populations. This SNP has recently been reported to be associated with OA in Japanese and Han Chinese populations. Attempts to replicate this association in European samples have been inconclusive as no association was found in the case-control cohorts from the UK, Spain and Greece when studied individually. However, the pooled data of UK and Spain found an association of the T-allele with an odds ratio (OR) 1.10. Whilst the European studies had adequate power to replicate the original findings from the Japanese cohort (OR = 1.79), these results suggest that the role of the GDF5 polymorphism may not be as strong in Europeans. To clarify whether the European studies were hampered by insufficient power we combined new data from the UK and the Netherlands with the three published studies of Europe and Asia. The results provide strong evidence of a positive association of the GDF5 SNP with knee OA for Europeans as well as for Asians. The combined association for both ethnic groups is highly significant for the allele frequency model (P = 0.0004, OR = 1.21) and the dominant model (P <0.0001, OR = 1.48). These findings represent the first highly significant evidence for a risk factor for the development of OA which affects two highly diverse ethnic groups.
These authors contributed equally to this work.
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