Neural Egfl Like 1 As a Novel Gene for Trabecular Bone Score in Older Adults: The Bushehr Elderly Health (Beh) Program Publisher Pubmed



Bidkhori M^{1, 2} ; Akbarzadeh M³ ; Fahimfar N^{1, 2} ; Jahangiri M⁴ ; Seddiq S² ; Larijani B⁵ ; Nabipour I⁶ ; Amoli MM⁷ ; Panahi N⁷ ; Dehghan A⁸ ; Holakouienaieni K¹ ; Ostovar A^{1, 2}
Source: PLoS ONE Published:2024

Abstract

Neural EGFL like 1 (NELL-1), is a secreted glycoprotein and stimulates osteogenic cell differentiation and bone mineralization. This study aimed to explore the relationship between NELL-1 and Trabecular Bone Score (TBS) as a novel tool for the evaluation of osteoporosis in an elderly population-based cohort study in Iran. A single-locus analysis was performed on TBS using data from 2,071 participants in the Bushehr Elderly Health (BEH) Program. The study investigated 376 independent single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the NELL-1 on chromosome 11p15.1. The association between SNPs and the mean TBS L1 to L4 was analyzed through an additive model. Significant variants in the additive model (PFDR<0.05) were further examined within dominant, recessive, over-dominant, and co-dominant models. Multiple linear regression was employed to assess the relationship between the genetic risk score (GRS) derived from significant SNPs and TBS. Three SNPs within the NELL-1 showed a statistically significant association with TBS after adjusting for age and sex. The associations for rs1901945 (β = 0.013, PFDR = 0.0007), rs1584851 (β = -0.011, PFDR = 0.0003), and rs58028601 (β = 0.011, PFDR = 0.0003) were significant in the additive model. Additionally, significant results were observed for rs1901945 and rs58028601 in the dominant model (P<0.05). The GRS showed a statistically significant relationship with TBS, considering adjustments for age, sex, Body Mass Index, type 2 diabetes, and smoking (β = 0.077, P = 1.7×10−5). This study highlights the association of NELL-1 with TBS, underscoring its potential as a candidate for further research and personalized medicine concerning the impact of this gene on bone quality. © 2024 Bidkhori et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.