702 MEP032 – Association of COL5A1 gene polymorphisms and knee ligament injuries in professional football (Soccer) players

AbstractBackground and Objective While investigating genetic risk factors aids in preventing knee injuries, limited evidence is available. This study aims to explore genetic factors for determining knee ligament injuries in professional soccer players.Study Design and Participants This study received approval from the Ethics Committee and included 94 professional soccer players (22.0 years). Genetic testing was conducted upon joining professional teams, examining players' histories of ACL and MCL injuries, as well as subsequent injuries. Salivary DNA was collected using a DNA Genotek kit (ON, Canada), and TaqMan assays analyzed COL5A1 rs12722 C/T and rs10628678 AGGG/- (deletion) polymorphisms.Risk Assessment and Main Outcomes We assessed the impact of genetic variants on the risk of knee ligament injuries. Statistical analysis used SPSS version 26, with statistical significance at P-values <0.05.Results Among 94 players, 27 experienced knee ligament injuries. The rs12722 polymorphisms showed CC/CT/TT = 60/32/2 distribution, with CC variants trending toward higher injury risk (35%) but without statistical significance. For rs10628678 polymorphisms, frequencies were AGGG/AGGG = 24, AGGG/- = 53, and -/- = 17. Ligament injuries occurred in 8.3% of AGGG/AGGG, 35.8% of AGGG/-, and 41.2% of -/-, indicating higher injury frequency in AGGG/- or -/- variants compared to AGGG/AGGG (odds ratio [OR] = 6.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.4–21.9, P < 0.01, Fisher's exact test). In logistic regression analysis, with knee ligament injury as the dependent variable and AGGG deletion/haploinsufficiency as the explanatory variable, while adjusting for age and the rs12722 variant, the OR was 6.0 (95% CI = 1.3–28.6, P < 0.05).Conclusions In the report by Alvarez-Romero and colleagues, only the COL5A1 rs10628678 -/- genotype was associated with ligament injuries in Japanese individuals, while it was not other ethnic groups. Unlike previous questionnaire-based surveys, this study, for the first time, revealed this association in actual clinical settings.Download figure Open in new tab Download powerpoint Abstract 702 Figure 1