MMP-3 gene polymorphisms are associated with increased risk of osteoarthritis in Chinese men

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common late-onset degenerative joint disease., It is characterized by progressive degradation of articular cartilage. We investigated the association between OA occurrence and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) gene involved in the breakdown of extra-cellular matrix proteins. The study included 100 male OA patients and 197 healthy men from the north area of China. Eight MMP-3 SNPs were genotyped. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to assess the association. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify SNPs that correlated with OA susceptibility. We found that rs639752 (dominant, OR = 2.03, 95% CI: 1.03-4.01, P = 0.038; over-dominant, OR = 2.00, 95% CI: 1.03-3.88, P = 0.037); rs520540 (dominant, OR = 2.03, 95% CI: 1.03-4.01, P = 0.038; over-dominant, OR = 2.00, 95% CI: 1.03-3.88, P = 0.037); rs602128 (dominant, OR = 2.03, 95% CI: 1.03-4.01, P = 0.038; over-dominant, OR = 2.01, 95% CI: 1.03-3.89, P = 0.037); and rs679620 (dominant, OR = 2.03, 95% CI: 1.03-4.01, P = 0.038; over-dominant, OR = 2.04, 95% CI: 1.05-3.96, P = 0.033) were associated with the increased risk of OA. Our results suggest that these SNPs may contribute to OA development, and could serve as molecular markers of OA susceptibility.