RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Association Between the Aggrecan Gene and Rheumatoid Arthritis JF The Journal of Rheumatology JO J Rheumatol FD The Journal of Rheumatology SP 2325 OP 2328 DO 10.3899/jrheum.071326 VO 35 IS 12 A1 THAIS B. de SOUZA A1 ELISA F. MENTZ A1 CLAITON V. BRENOL A1 RICARDO M. XAVIER A1 JOÃO C.T. BRENOL A1 JOSÉ A. CHIES A1 DANIEL SIMON YR 2008 UL http://www.jrheum.org/content/35/12/2325.abstract AB Objective Genetic and environmental factors seem to be involved in the onset of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We analyzed whether a variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) polymorphism in the aggrecan gene was associated to RA. Methods The study population comprised 170 European-derived Brazilian patients with diagnosis of RA. The control group comprised 148 European-derived Brazilian healthy blood donors. The aggrecan VNTR polymorphism was genotyped by DNA amplification by polymerase chain reaction, followed by electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gel. Results There was a statistically significant higher frequency of alleles of shorter length in the patient group compared to controls (p = 0.001), suggesting that individuals carrying short alleles are more likely to develop RA. There was no association between short alleles and clinical characteristics of RA. Conclusion Our results provide evidence of an association between the aggrecan gene VNTR polymorphism and RA.