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Gene variants previously associated with reduced soft tissue injury risk: Part 1 – independent associations with elite status in rugby
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Mark R. Antrobus,
Adam J. Herbert,
Peter C. Callus,
Georgina K. Stebbings,
Stephen H. Day,
Shane Heffernan ,
Liam Kilduff ,
Mark Bennett,
Robert M. Erskine ,
Stuart. M. Raleigh,
Malcolm Collins,
Yannis. P. Pitsiladis,
Alun Williams
European Journal of Sport Science, Volume: 23, Issue: 5, Pages: 726 - 735
Swansea University Authors:
Shane Heffernan , Liam Kilduff , Mark Bennett, Alun Williams
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DOI (Published version): 10.1080/17461391.2022.2053752
Abstract
There is growing evidence of genetic contributions to tendon and ligament pathologies. Given the high incidence and severity of tendon and ligament injuries in elite rugby, we studied whether 13 gene polymorphisms previously associated with tendon/ligament injury were associated with elite athlete s...
| Published in: | European Journal of Sport Science |
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| ISSN: | 1746-1391 1536-7290 |
| Published: |
Wiley
2023
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| Online Access: |
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa65708 |
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| Abstract: |
There is growing evidence of genetic contributions to tendon and ligament pathologies. Given the high incidence and severity of tendon and ligament injuries in elite rugby, we studied whether 13 gene polymorphisms previously associated with tendon/ligament injury were associated with elite athlete status. Participants from the RugbyGene project were 663 elite Caucasian male rugby athletes (RA) (mean (standard deviation) height 1.85 (0.07) m, mass 101 (12) kg, age 29 (7) yr), including 558 rugby union athletes (RU) and 105 rugby league athletes. Non-athletes (NA) were 909 Caucasian men and women (56% female; height 1.70 (0.10) m, mass 72 (13) kg, age 41 (23) yr). Genotypes were determined using TaqMan probes and groups compared using Χ2 and odds ratio (OR). COLGALT1 rs8090 AA genotype was more frequent in RA (27%) than NA (23%; P = 0.006). COL3A1 rs1800255 A allele was more frequent in RA (26%) than NA (23%) due to a greater frequency of GA genotype (39% vs 33%). For MIR608 rs4919510, RA had 1.7 times the odds of carrying the CC genotype compared to NA. MMP3 rs591058 TT genotype was less common in RA (25.1%) than NA (31.2%; P < 0.04). For NID1 rs4660148, RA had 1.6 times the odds of carrying the TT genotype compared to NA. It appears that elite rugby athletes have an inherited advantage that contributes to their elite status, possibly via resistance to soft tissue injury. These data may, in future, assist personalised management of injury risk amongst athletes.Highlights The elite rugby athletes we studied had differing genetic characteristics to non-athletes regarding genetic variants previously associated with soft-tissue injury risk.COLGALT1 rs8090, COL3A1 rs1800255, MIR608 rs4919510, MMP3 rs591058 and NID1 rs4660148 were all associated with elite status in rugby.We propose that elite rugby athletes might possess an inherited resistance to soft tissue injury, which has enabled them to achieve elite status despite exposure to the high-risk environment of elite rugby. |
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| Keywords: |
Genetics, ligament, rugby league, rugby union, tendon |
| College: |
Faculty of Science and Engineering |
| Funders: |
The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with thework featured in this article. |
| Issue: |
5 |
| Start Page: |
726 |
| End Page: |
735 |