The Relative Roles of Intragenic Polymorphisms of the Vitamin D Receptor Gene in Lumbar Spine Degeneration and Bone Density
- 1 February 2001
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) in Spine
- Vol. 26 (3), A1-A6
- https://doi.org/10.1097/00007632-200102010-00003
Abstract
A retrospective cohort study. To compare the magnitudes of the associations of TaqI polymorphisms of the vitamin D receptor gene with bone density and lumbar spine degeneration in the same sample. Vitamin D receptor gene variations are associated with osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and disc degeneration. Their role in these conditions remains poorly understood. Bone density of the spine and femur were determined through DEXA, and lumbar disc degeneration was determined from magnetic resonance imaging assessments of signal intensity, disc narrowing, bulging, anular tears, herniations, and osteophytes. Associations between these measures and TaqI polymorphisms of the coding region of the Vitamin D receptor locus were examined in a population-based sample of 142 men. The strongest associations were with signal intensity and anular tears, which were worse for the subjects with tt genotypes than for those with TT genotypes in the L4–S1 spine discs. Conversely, the prevalences of disc bulges and osteophytes were lowest for the tt genotype. Bone density, disc height, and herniations did not differ significantly by genotype. The strongest association of Vitamin D receptor TaqI polymorphisms with degeneration in nonmineralized connective tissues suggests that the underlying mechanism of TaqI polymorphisms is not specific to bone. This study demonstrated for the first time that those with the tt genotype had more anular tears than those with the TT genotype, a finding that should stimulate further analyses of this gene in conditions that result in back pain. The apparent discrepancies of the associations of the tt genotype with lower signal intensity and more anular tears, but less bulges and osteophytes, could be explained if bulging and osteophytes primarily represented remodeling related to lifetime physical loading.Keywords
This publication has 31 references indexed in Scilit:
- 1998 Steindler award lecture. Is collagen fatigue failure a cause of osteoarthrosis and prosthetic component migration? A hypothesisJournal of Orthopaedic Research, 1999
- Correlation Between Bone Mineral Density and Intervertebral Disc DegenerationSpine, 1998
- Allelic variation in the vitamin D receptor, lifestyle factors and lumbar spinal degenerative diseaseAnnals Of The Rheumatic Diseases, 1998
- Vitamin D Receptor Gene Polymorphisms: Analysis of Ligand Binding and Hormone Responsiveness in Cultured Skin FibroblastsBiochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 1998
- YY1 regulates vitamin D receptor/retinoid X receptor mediated transactivation of the vitamin D responsive osteocalcin geneProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 1997
- Are vitamin D receptor polymorphisms associated with bone mineral density? A meta-analysisJournal of Bone and Mineral Research, 1996
- Vitamin D receptor polymorphism, bone mineral density, and osteoporotic vertebral fracture: Studies in a UK populationBone, 1996
- Determinants of Lumbar Disc DegenerationSpine, 1995
- Bone mineral density in relation to polymorphism at the vitamin D receptor gene locus.JCI Insight, 1994
- Optimization of the single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) technique for detection of point mutationsHuman Mutation, 1993