A meta-analysis of the relationship between aspartic acid (D)-repeat polymorphisms in asporin and osteoarthritis susceptibility

Abstract

Our aim was to determine whether asporin (ASPN) D-repeat polymorphisms are associated with susceptibility to osteoarthritis (OA). A meta-analysis was conducted to examine the association between the ASPN D14, D13, and D15 alleles and OA of the knee and hip in each ethnic group. In total, 9 studies from eight articles involving 4,417 OA patients and 3,403 controls were considered in the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed no association between OA and the ASPN allele coding for 14 D-repeats (D14) in the overall population (OR 1.161, 95 % CI 0.934-1.444, p = 0.178). Stratification by ethnicity identified no association between the ASPN D14 allele and OA in Europeans or Asians (OR 1.035, 95 % CI 0.914-1.173, p = 0.589; OR 1.537, 95 % CI 0.899-2.626, p = 0.116), respectively. However, high heterogeneity was found in Asians (I (2) = 81.2, p = 0.001). Meta-analysis of OA by site showed no association between knee and hip OA and the ASPN D14 allele (OR 1.240, 95 % CI 0.946-1.627, p = 0.119; OR 1.130, 95 % CI 0.767-1.665, p = 0.537). Meta-analysis of D14 versus D13 allele showed the same pattern of OA association as the D14 allele. No association was found between the ASPN D13 and D15 alleles and risk of developing OA by meta-analysis (OR 0.942, 95 % CI 0.840-1.056, p = 0.304; OR 1.050, 95 % CI 0.956-1.154, p = 0.306), respectively. This meta-analysis shows that the ASPN D14, D13, and D15 alleles are not associated with the development of OA in Europeans and Asians. Thus, further study of this relationship is required in homogenous populations because of the heterogeneity of the ASPN D14 allele observed in Asians.

Genetic Contribution to the Development of Radiographic Knee Osteoarthritis in a Population Presenting with Nonacute Knee Symptoms a Decade Earlier

“…None of the investigated SNPs of the ASPN and 7q22 locus genes were significantly associated with OA development in the current study population. These findings are in line with the outcomes of recent studies, which report conflicting evidence about these genes in the development of OA 29 , 30 …”

The role of small leucine-rich proteoglycans in osteoarthritis pathogenesis

“…What is more, although strong association between D-repeat and knee OA in Asians was found in a meta-analysis 46 , a subsequent study in Korean populations reported no difference in the frequency of the different ASPN alleles between the knee OA patients and the healthy controls 47 . It is due to the inclusion of this study that negative results were found in the two other recent meta-analyses 48,49 . More studies are required to draw the exact conclusion in Asian populations.…”

Association of aspartic acid repeat polymorphism in the asporin gene with osteoarthritis of knee, hip, and hand

“…Recently, 3 meta-analyses based on different strategies have suggested the possible association of ASPN D-repeat polymorphisms with OA development. [ 26 – 28 ] However, previous meta-analysis specifically focused on D14 and D13 allele only for knee OA. [ 26 , 27 ] In addition, a meta-analysis published in 2014 with 9 studies was conducted to explore the association between ASPN and OA of the knee and hip sites among each ethnic group.…”