The MMP-1 -1,607 1G/2G (rs1799750), MMP-2 -1,306 C/T (rs243865), and MMP-9 -1,562 C/T (rs3918242) polymorphisms were determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism assay in 157 patients diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis based on the criteria of American College of Rheumatology and in 84 controls in Mersin, Turkey.
To examine whether upregulation of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA), PA inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), and gelatinases [matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9] in early knee osteoarthritis (OA) of humans occurs through 3 major mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK): extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 kinase signaling pathways, and the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) signaling pathway.