Association between Total Genotype Score and Muscle Injuries in Top-level Football Players: a pilot study

Abstract

Abstract Background. Recently, genetic predisposition to injury has become a popular area of research and the association between a few Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) and the susceptibility to develop musculoskeletal injuries has been shown. This pilot study aimed to investigate the combined effect of common gene polymorphisms previously associated with muscle injuries in Italian soccer players. Results. A total of 64 Italian top soccer players (age 23.1 ± 5.5 years; height 179.3 ± 7.3 cm; weight 73.0 ± 7.9 kg) were genotyped for 4 gene polymorphisms (ACE I/D rs 4341, ACTN-3 R/X rs 1815739, COL5A1 C/T rs 12722, MCT1 A/T rs1049434). Muscle injuries were gathered for 10 years (2009–2019). Buccal swabs were used to obtain genomic DNA, and the PCR method was used to genotype the samples. Logistic regression analyses showed a significant association of all four polymorphisms with muscle injury incidence (P < 0.01), while ACTN3 and COL5A1 polymorphisms were also significantly associated with injury severity (P = 0.042 and P = 0.012, respectively). In addition, the mean total genotype score (TGS) was significantly higher in injured than in non-injured (control) soccer players (injured: 57.5 ± 15.5 vs. non-injured: 36.6 ± 13.7, t = 6.33, P < 0.001) and this was a strong predictor of muscle injury (OR = 2.93, 95% CI: 0.06–0.18, P > 0.001). Conclusions. These data suggest that carrying a high number of "protective" gene variants could influence an individual's susceptibility to developing muscle injuries in soccer. Adapting the training load parameters to the athletes’ genetic profile represents today the new frontier of the methodology of training.