Linkage analysis of chromosome 2q in osteoarthritis.
Loughlin J., Mustafa Z., Smith A., Irven C., Carr AJ., Clipsham K., Chitnavis J., Bloomfield VA., McCartney M., Cox O., Sinsheimer JS., Sykes B., Chapman KE.
BACKGROUND: In independent linkage studies chromosome 2q11-q24 and chromosome 2q23-35 have previously been implicated as regions potentially harbouring susceptibility loci for osteoarthritis (OA). OBJECTIVE: To test chromosome 2q for linkage to idiopathic osteoarthritis. METHODS: Using a cohort of 481 OA families that each contained at least one affected sibling pair with severe end-stage disease (ascertained by hip or knee joint replacement surgery), we conducted a linkage analysis of chromosome 2q using 16 polymorphic microsatellite markers at an average spacing of one marker every 8.5 cM. RESULTS: Our results provide suggestive evidence for a locus at 2q31 with a maximum multipoint logarithm of the odds score (MLS) of 1.22 which increased to 2.19 in those families concordant for hip-only disease (n = 311). This suggestive linkage was greater in male-hip families (MLS = 1.57, n = 71) than in female-hip families (MLS = 0.71, n = 132). CONCLUSIONS: Chromosome 2q is likely to contain at least one susceptibility locus for OA.