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MicroRNAs could help predict severe knee, hip OA
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Study results presented at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress identified a correlation between microRNAs and the development of severe osteoarthritis of the knee or hip joint, suggesting that microRNAs may be used as predictive biomarkers.
From 1995 to 2010, researchers followed 816 individuals to assess joint arthroplasty as a definitive outcome of severe osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee and hip. A microarray screening identified three potential microRNAs (miRNAs) in two OA serum pools.
Study results showed 67 individuals underwent one or more total joint replacement surgeries for severe knee or hip OA during the 15-year follow-up. The researchers found 12 candidate miRNAs through microarray screening, and Cox regression analysis demonstrated that three miRNAs were associated with severe knee and hip OA. According to the researchers, let-7e was a negative predictor for total joint arthroplasty, miR-454 was inversely correlated with severe knee or hip OA, and miR-885-5p showed a trend toward a positive relationship with arthroplasty when normalized to U6 or to Ct-average.
“These results indicate that for the first time, we will be able to predict the risk of severe osteoarthritis, before the disease starts to significantly impact a person’s life, allowing us to take preventative action early on,” Christian Beyer, MD, of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany, and lead study author, stated in a press release from the Congress. “Through the early identification of osteoarthritis we can decrease both the impact of the disease on individuals and the major socioeconomic burden severe disease poses.”
For more information:
Beyer C. Abstract #OP0003. Presented at: the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress 2014; June 11-14, 2014; Paris.
Disclosure: The authors have no relevant financial disclosures.