| abstract |
The present invention arises from the identification of an association between the TDOA gene and osteoarthritis (OA). It therefore relates to diagnostic techniques for determining a patient's susceptibility to develop OA by detecting all or part of the TDOA gene, its precursors or products (mRNA, cDNA, genomic DNA, or protein). In particular, the invention relates to methods and materials for analysing allelic variation in the TDOA gene, and to the use of TDOA polymorphisms in the identification of an individuals' risk to develop OA. The TDOA protein has been found to bind to α-paxillin, a protein involved in integrin signal transduction which itself is a process with strong links to OA. The invention is thus also directed to methods for identifying modulators of OA, which modulate the TDOA gene or interfere with TDOA:α-paxillin binding. |