Nine new genes for osteoarthritis have been discovered by scientists at the University of Sheffield, five of which could lead to the development of new treatments.
In the largest genetic study to date on osteoarthritis, nine new disease genes were discovered by scientists at the University of Sheffield, 5 of which are directly involved in the worsening of the disease.
The results of the study, published in Nature Genetics, could open the door to the development of new targeted treatments for this debilitating disease.
The largest study on the genetics of osteoarthritis
To better understand the genetic basis of osteoarthritis, the team studied 16.5 million DNA variations from the UK Biobank genetic database.
Through the combined analysis of 30,727 people with osteoarthritis and nearly 300,000 people without osteoarthritis, scientists have discovered nine new genes associated with the disease, a significant breakthrough for the disease.
The team also explored the genetic correlations between osteoarthritis and obesity, bone mineral density, type 2 diabetes, and high blood lipid levels.
A disease waiting for a solution
Osteoarthritis is the most common musculoskeletal disease and one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. Its links with various associated diseases, frequent at this age (diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, obesity), are not well understood.
Genome-wide analyzes using UK Biobank data provide insights into the genetic architecture of osteoarthritis (Zengini et al.) https://t.co/Rzvh5IVw5T pic.twitter.com/3OC5wgrleU
– Nature Genetics (@NatureGenet) March 20, 2018
There is no specific treatment for osteoarthritis.
The disease is mainly the symptomatic treatment of pain and inflammation during flare-ups. Joint replacement surgery most often concludes a more or less prolonged and more or less painful course over several years.
Within the confines of this study, scientists have found that type 2 diabetes and high blood cholesterol levels have no causal effects on osteoarthritis, but reaffirm that of obesity.
Five genes involved in the progression of the disease
The team looked for genes that were active in disease progression by extracting DNA from healthy and diseased synovial cells and compared them using the technique.
Of the nine genes associated with osteoarthritis, the researchers identified five specific genes that differed significantly in their expression in healthy and diseased tissue. The five genes present new targets for the development of new treatments.
According to Eleni Zengini of the University of Sheffield and co-author of the study: “These results are an important step in understanding the genetic causes of osteoarthritis and bringing us closer to discovering the true mechanisms of the disease. This opens the door to the development of new specific treatments for this disabling disease ”.
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