Association of MMP-3 (-1612 5A/6A) polymorphism with knee osteoarthritis in Thai population.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disorder resulting in destruction of articular cartilage, osteophyte formation, and subchondral bone sclerosis. In recent years, numerous genetic factors have been identified and implicated in causing osteoarthritis. One such genetic defect is a single nucleotide polymorphism at position -1612 of matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) promoter region, known to lead to three possible genotypes, 5A/5A, 6A/6A, and 5A/6A. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of MMP-3 -1612 5A/6A gene polymorphism with knee osteoarthritis in Thai population. Genotype distributions and allelic frequencies of MMP-3