Indication for joint replacement and glutathione s-transferases M1 and T1 genotypes

In most patients with osteoarthritis (OA), therapy-resistant pain is the indication for hip or knee replacement. Glutathione S-transferases, particularly glutathione S-transferase M1 (GSTM1), are involved in metabolism of highly reactive metabolites that may be generated by inflammatory processes. In total, 148 patients with indication for hip or knee replacement and 129 patients of the same hospital without indication for joint replacement were genotyped for GSTM1 and GSTT1 and interviewed by a newly developed questionnaire for occupational and nonoccupational risk factors of hip and/or knee osteoarthritis. Mean age was 70.9 yr in OA cases and 67.4 yr in controls. The frequency of GSTM1 negative in the OA case group was (45%) in the lower range compared to values in Caucasian general population (approximately 50%), whereas the frequency in the controls was normal (51%). The frequency of GSTT1 negative genotype in OA cases and controls was normal. The normal distribution of the GSTM1 negative genotype in patients with indication for hip or knee replacement indicates that the role GSTM1 in these patients is different from that in other aseptic inflammatory diseases such as ozone-related inflammatory reactions of the respiratory tract.