Are TNC gene variants associated with anterior cruciate ligament rupture susceptibility?

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the role of inter-individual variations in a particular glycoprotein, TNC, and its potential contribution to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury susceptibility in Polish Caucasian participants. ACL rupture is one of the most prevalent and severe knee injury that predominantly occurs during sports participation, primarily via a non-contact mechanism. Several polymorphisms in genes encoding glycoproteins either independently or as allelic combinations, modulate the risk of musculoskeletal soft tissue injuries. Specifically, the TNC rs1330363 (C>T), rs2104772 (T>A) and rs13321 (G>C) variants, independently or in haplotype combinations, were analysed in this context.

DESIGN: Case-control genetic association study.

METHODS: A group of 421 physically active, unrelated participants were recruited where 229 individuals with surgically diagnosed primary ACL rupture and 192 apparently healthy participants without any history of ACL injuries. Participants were genotyped for the above variants.

RESULTS: Genotype and allele frequencies of TNC variants did not differ between cases and controls. Haplotype analysis revealed no association between TNC and predisposition to ACL rupture.

CONCLUSIONS: Our analyses did not reveal a significant association between these TNC variants and risk of ACL rupture in Polish Caucasian participants.