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GREB1 genetic variants are associated with bone mineral density in Caucasians

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Abstract

Gaining an understanding of factors contributing to bone quality is key to the development of effective preventative treatments for osteoporosis and reduction in osteoporotic fractures. Oestrogen is a strong regulator of bone remodelling which maintains skeletal structural integrity. The growth regulation by oestrogen in breast cancer 1 (GREB1) gene, with an as yet undefined function, is an early response gene in the oestrogen-regulated pathway. Suggestive evidence of linkage with bone mineral density (BMD) variation has been reported with D2S168, located telomeric of GREB1. The aim of this study was to determine if genetic variation within GREB1 was associated with BMD variation at two sites with high fracture rates—the lumbar spine (LS) and the femoral neck (FN). Informative GREB1 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (n = 12) were selected for genotyping and tested for association in a family-based dataset (n = 508 individuals from 229 families). Significantly associated SNPs were tested further in a postmenopausal dataset from the same geographic region (n = 477 individuals). One intronic SNP, rs5020877, was significantly associated with LS and FN BMD in the family-based dataset (P ≤ 0.005). The association was not observed in the postmenopausal dataset (P > 0.017); however, rs10929757 was significantly associated with FN BMD (P = 0.006). Markers, rs5020877 and rs10929757, were constituent SNPs in one GREB1 linkage disequilibrium block, although not historically correlated (r 2 = 0.07). Our findings suggest that GREB1 is a novel gene target for osteoporosis genetics and needs to be investigated further.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Ms. M. Twohy and Ms. J. Foley who helped in the recruitment and bleeding of individuals and who performed all the DXA scans for this study. This research was funded by the Irish Centre for Arthritis Research and Education (ICARE). There was no involvement by ICARE in the study design, performance or results interpretation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

    Kevin G. Hegarty, Mary Daly & Fergus Shanahan

  2. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

    Frances J. Drummond

  3. Department of Rheumatology and Medicine, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

    Michael G. Molloy

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  1. Kevin G. Hegarty
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  2. Frances J. Drummond
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  3. Mary Daly
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Correspondence to Kevin G. Hegarty.

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Hegarty, K.G., Drummond, F.J., Daly, M. et al. GREB1 genetic variants are associated with bone mineral density in Caucasians. J Bone Miner Metab 36, 189–199 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00774-017-0823-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00774-017-0823-x

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