Genetic variants in the ITPR2 gene are associated with Kashin-Beck Disease in Tibetan

Kashin-Beck Disease (KBD) is a chronic, endemic osteoarthropathy. Inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate receptor type 2 (ITPR2) gene is involved in chondrocytes. We speculated that single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in ITPR2 gene may have an association with KBD in Tibetan.

To prove this hypothesis, a total of eight SNPs (rs1049376, rs11048526, rs11048556, rs11048585, rs16931011, rs10842759, rs2230372, and rs7134213) were selected, and genotyped in 316 KBD patients and 320 controls. The association between ITPR2 variants and KBD risk was assessed by logistic regression analysis.

The study identified significant association (p = 0.019) between KBD and a novel locus, ITPR2 SNP rs11048526 (OR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.07-2.08). The variant A/G genotype frequency in rs11048526 had a significantly increased risk of KBD in co-dominant model (OR = 3.70, 95% CI = 1.26-10.89, p = 0.018), dominant model (OR = 3.56, 95% CI = 1.22-10.40, p = 0.020), log-additive model (OR = 3.00, 95% CI = 1.12-8.00, p = 0.029) after adjusted for age and gender.

The results indicate a potential association between ITPR2 and KBD risk in Tibetan. Further work is required to confirm these results and explore the mechanisms of these effects.