Association of MMP-3 (-1612 5A/6A) polymorphism with knee osteoarthritis in Thai population

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disorder resulting in destruction of articular cartilage, osteophyte formation, and subchondral bone sclerosis. In recent years, numerous genetic factors have been identified and implicated in causing osteoarthritis. One such genetic defect is a single nucleotide polymorphism at position -1612 of matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) promoter region, known to lead to three possible genotypes, 5A/5A, 6A/6A, and 5A/6A. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of MMP-3 -1612 5A/6A gene polymorphism with knee osteoarthritis in Thai population. Genotype distributions and allelic frequencies of MMP-3 -1612 5A/6A polymorphism were investigated in 200 participants (100 patients with knee osteoarthritis and 100 healthy controls). Genotyping was performed using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups with respect to genotype distribution (P > 0.05). The 5A allele frequency was indicated as 15.5 %, and 6A allele was as 84.5 % in OA patients, whereas it was 10-90 % in the control group. Accordingly, the present study has indicated that the -1612 5A/6A polymorphism genotypes of MMP-3 gene promoter do not play a role in the development of osteoarthritis in the Thai population.