The human calcium-sensing receptor and interleukin-6 genes are associated with bone mineral density in Chinese.
Calcium sensing receptor (CASR) is a central factor involved in calcium metabolism. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pleiotropic cytokine that plays an important role in osteoclast differentiation. Thus, both CASR and IL-6 are important in bone and mineral metabolism and are prominent candidate genes for osteoporosis. The study aimed to test association and/or linkage between the CASR and IL-6 genes with bone mineral density (BMD) variation in a Chinese population. A cytosine-adenine (CA)n repeat polymorphism in the CASR gene and the IL-6 gene was genotyped, respectively, in 1,263 subjects from 402 Chinese nuclear families. Employing tests implemented in the program QTDT (quantitative transmission disequilibrium tests), a significant total association of the CASR (CA)12 allele (P = 0.006) and (CA)18 allele (P = 0.02) with BMD at the femoral neck was found. For the IL-6 gene, significant within-family associations were found between the (CA)14 allele and BMD at the total hip (P = 0.021), the femoral neck (P = 0.041), and the intertrochanteric region (P = 0.029). A significant linkage was also observed between IL-6 CA repeat polymorphism and BMD at the spine (P = 0.001). The results suggest that the CASR gene and the IL-6 gene may have effects on BMD variation in Chinese.
Wang
Yan-Bo
YB
Laboratory of Molecular and Statistical Genetics and the Key Laboratory of Protein Chemistry and Developmental Biology of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China.
Guo
Jing-Jing
JJ
Liu
Yong-Jun
YJ
Deng
Fei-Yan
FY
Jiang
De-Ke
DK
Deng
Hong-Wen
HW
D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics*; D015519:Bone Density / Q000235:genetics*; D001842:Bone and Bones; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000235:genetics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D044169:Receptors, Calcium-Sensing / Q000235:genetics*
D015850:Interleukin-6; D044169:Receptors, Calcium-Sensing