Transcriptional activity of the RHOB gene is influenced by regulatory polymorphisms in its promoter region.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic joint disease with genetic as well as environmental factors contributing to its etiology. We recently identified RHOB as a gene overexpressed in osteoarthritis. Interestingly, RHOB harbors numerous polymorphisms in its promoter region and genotyping of OA patients and healthy controls revealed an association of the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs585017 with the disease.

Cis- and trans-acting gene regulation is associated with osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a complex disease of the skeleton and is associated with aging. Both environmental and genetic factors contribute to its pathogenesis. We set out to identify novel genes associated with OA, concentrating on regulatory polymorphisms allowing for differential expression.