BoneKEy Reports | BoneKEy Watch

A genetic link between osteoarthritis and obesity?

DOI:10.1038/bonekey.2013.217

This study investigated whether an overlap between osteoarthritis (OA), body mass index (BMI) and height might be due to a genome-wide shared genetic aetiology.

Elliott et al. looked at the summary statistics from the GIANT consortium, which performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) looking for associations between BMI and height, and compared these with summary statistics from the OA GWAS performed by the arcOGEN consortium. They then used an independent dataset to see if the signals related to an OA association could be replicated.

A significant overlap was seen between OA and height, with 17 shared signals (P≤0.05), but less of an overlap was apparent between OA and BMI, with only four shared signals. Some of the signals detected are within genes previously linked to susceptibility to OA; one was the gene encoding structural protein collagen (COL11A1). Another was the PTHLH gene, which codes for parathyroid hormone-related protein, a recognized regulator of endochondral bone development.

Editor’s comment: It is interesting to note that only one of the BMI or height signals with a known association with OA was replicated in the independent dataset used in this study. This was rs12149832, which lies within the FTO gene (a known candidate gene for obesity). This signal is identified as the most robust and provides evidence of a genetic link between OA and BMI/obesity.

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