The interaction between Aggrecan gene variable number of tandem repeat polymorphism and obesity in susceptibility of lumbar disc herniation in northern Chinese male

English Keywords:Lumbar disc herniation  Aggrecan  Variable number of tandem repeat  Obesity  Interaction

English Abstract:

  【Abstract】 Objectives: To study the interaction between Aggrecan gene variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) polymorphism and obesity, and its effects on susceptibility of lumbar disc herniation(LDH) in Chinese Han male population lived in northern China. Methods: To collect the clinical data of 299 male volunteers who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria and were hospitalized in the Department of Orthopedics at the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University from January 2004 to December 2015. The case group included 101 patients clinically diagnosed with LDH and the control group included 198 volunteers without symptoms. Every subject gave informed consent to this study and donated a blood sample. Height and weight were measured and body mass index(BMI) was calculated. Aggrecan VNTR information was detected by PCR technique. The Hwang′s model was used to determine the interaction between aggrecan gene VNTR polymorphism and obesity, and its influence in susceptibility of LDH. Results: The data indicated that participants carrying allele ≤25 repeats who were non-obese showed a 1.027-fold increase in risk for LDH(P=0.938; 95%CI 0.520-2.028), and participants carrying two alleles >25 repeats who were obese showed a 1.050-fold increase risk(P=0.885; 95%CI 0.543-2.030), while participants carrying allele ≤25 repeats who were obese showed a 4.521-fold increase in risk for LDH(P=0.000016; 95%CI 2.277-8.978). Conclusions: In northern Chinese male LDH patients, shorter Aggrecan VNTR fragments(≤25 repeats) are more frequent, and there are interactions between Aggrecan gene VNTR polymorphism and obesity to affect LDH incidence.