p-ISSN: 1300-0551
e-ISSN: 2587-1498

Şerife Şeyma Torğutalp1, Naila Babayeva2, Ömer Özkan2, Fatmanur Akdoğan Kıttana3, Alpaslan Alp3, Feza Korkusuz2

1Sports Medicine Section, Gaziler Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
2Department of Sports Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
3Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey

Keywords: hypermobility, collagen, gene expression

Abstract

Objective: Generalized joint laxity is a connective tissue disorder, and may cause musculoskeletal injury in athletes. The gene expression levels of type I, V, and XII collagens affect the components and properties of connective tissue. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to investigate the COL1A1, COL5A1, and COL12A1 gene expression levels, which have an effect on connective tissue properties and were previously associated with ligament injuries in athletes and assess their association with generalized joint laxity.

Materials and Methods: 20 athletes were included in this study. Joint laxity was evaluated according to the Beighton Horan Joint Mobility Index (BHJMI). The participants were divided into two groups as non-hypermobile (n=11) and increased mobility and hypermobility (n=9) according to their BHJMI scores. The real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to determine the COL1A1, COL5A1, and COL12A1 gene expression levels.

Results: There were no significant differences in the relative gene expressions of COL1A1, COL5A1, or COL12A1 between the groups.

Conclusion: The gene expression levels of collagen types I, III, and V of participants with and without generalized joint laxity were not different. Genome-wide studies are recommended to evaluate the potential genetic variants associated with hypermobility, which causes sport-related injuries.

Cite this article as: Torgutalp SS, Babayeva N, Ozkan O, Akdogan Kittana F, Alp A, Korkusuz F. The association of collagen 1A1, 5A1 and 12A1 gene expression with general joint laxity in athletes is non-significant. Turk J Sports Med. 2020;55(4):308-13.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

Financial Disclosure

The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.