The association of RANK gene C421T and C575T polymorphisms with bone mineral density in postmenopausal Turkish women.

PURPOSE: To investigate the association between C421T polymorphism within exon 4, C575T polymorphism within exon 6 of the RANK gene and bone mineral density (BMD) variations in postmenopausal Turkish women.

METHODS

One hundred seventy-eight postmenopausal women (patients = 100 and controls = 78) who applied to Ege University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, for osteoporosis examination were analyzed. BMDs of the lumbar spine and femoral sites were measured. Patient and control groups were established based on their T-score values being above and/or below -1. After venous blood sampling, C421T and C575T polymorphisms of the RANK gene were assessed through PCR process following DNA extraction.

RESULTS

Genotype frequencies for the C421T and C575T polymorphisms were compared between the control group and the patient group. No significant difference was detected between the two groups for both polymorphisms. There was also no significant difference between the control and patient groups in terms of the combined genotype (p = 0.752) and the combined haplotype analysis of the C421T and C575T polymorphisms (p = 0.723). In the control and patient groups separately, no significant differences in BMD values either at the femoral sites or at the lumbar spine were detected between the combined genotypes of the two polymorphisms.

CONCLUSIONS

The genotypes, combined genotypes and allele frequencies of C421T and C575T polymorphisms of the RANK gene have not been found to be associated with BMD in Turkish women. Further studies including both sexes and more cases are required.