Background and aims: Osteoprotegerin (OPG; official gene symbol: TNFRSF11B) is considered a negative regulator of bone resorption via inhibition of osteoclast differentiation. Further, OPG expression has been detected in Prosthetic Joint Infection (PJI) a serious complication limiting the overall outcome of total joint arthroplasty (TJA). As OPG may be a candidate molecule for PJI pathogenesis, we investigated whether genetic variation in the OPG promoter, namely the SNP at position -163 was associated with PJI.
Methods: OPG -163 T/C SNP (rs3102735) was genotyped by polymerase chain reaction with sequence specific primers (PCR-SSP) in 98 Czech patients with PJI and two Czech control groups: 1) aseptic TJA control [251 patients with TJA who did not develop PJI at least 6 yrs. after the surgery] and 2) population control (185 healthy control subjects without TJA).
Results: The distribution of OPG -163 SNP genotypes complied with the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in all three groups. The allele frequencies of OPG -163 SNP were similar in patients with PJI (minor allele frequency: 0.14), those with aseptic TJA (0.13) and population controls (0.14, P>0.05). Further, there was no significant difference in genotype or phenotype frequency (carriage rate) between patients with PJI and both control groups (P>0.05).
Conclusions: In a Czech population, the OPG -163 T/C SNP has not been found to be associated with PJI.