Interleukin-10G and interleukin-10R microsatellite polymorphisms and osteoarthritis of the knee.

Objective: To clarify and evaluate the possible role of interleukin-10G (IL-10G) and interleukin-10R (IL-10R) microsatellite polymorphisms of IL-10 gene in knee osteoarthritis (OA).

Methods: This was a case-control study. Our population consisted of 132 patients with primary knee osteoarthritis who had undergone total knee replacement (TKR) and 165 unaffected controls. Peripheral blood was used to extract genomic DNA and the IL-10G and IL-10R polymorphisms were examined by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based method and were analyzed using an automated DNA analysis method.

Results: A significant difference in the genotype distribution between OA individuals and controls was observed for IL-10G gene. Individuals with LL genotype were found to have almost 4 times greater possibility for knee OA than the ones with SS genotype (p = 0.001). OA patients had a significantly higher mean number of CA repeats for IL-10G gene than controls (p = 0.007). No significant differences in allelic frequencies between OA patients and controls were found for IL-10R gene.

Conclusion: An association between IL-10G microsatellite polymorphisms and idiopathic knee OA was found in subjects of Greek descent.