Nature Genetics: Ten novel loci associated with osteoarthritis

A team of researchers at several institutions in Alabama has linked 10 gene loci to the development of osteoarthritis
.
In their paper, published in the journal Nature Genetics, the team describes their analysis of data from the Million Veterans Project in the United States and the British Biobank

Osteoarthritis is a progressive joint disease
caused by inflammation.
It is one of the most common forms of arthritis and usually affects the knees, hips, spine, and hands
.
There is currently no cure and treatments are limited
.
Many people with this condition end up undergoing joint replacement surgery
.
In this new effort, the researchers build on previous research by looking at genetic factors
involved in its development.

To find out what genes may contribute to osteoarthritis, the researchers used data from the Million Veterans Project, a database
of health, genetic and other information about 163,000 U.
S.
veterans.
They distinguished 79,569 people with osteoarthritis from a control group of 80,002 who were not affected
.

The researchers then did the same with the data from the UK Biobank
.
After mixing and analyzing data from the two sources, the researchers isolated 10 novel loci associated with osteoarthritis and confirmed 17 other loci
previously identified by other research groups.

When the researchers performed ancestral stratification analysis of loci associated with tissues unrelated to joints, they also found a significant association
they described.
They also performed a gene set enrichment analysis that helped highlight genetic pathways
associated with bone, cartilage, and other connective tissues.
Next, they explored possible biological processes in the development of osteoarthritis and potential treatments for
symptoms.

The researchers note that identifying the genes behind the development of osteoarthritis is only the first step in identifying the chain of events that lead to joint damage and ultimately finding ways to break this chain and thus prevent it
.
They also noted that more work needs to be done to identify all genetic factors
associated with the disease.