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. 2022 Nov 2;13(11):2009.
doi: 10.3390/genes13112009.

A Pilot Study on the Prediction of Non-Contact Muscle Injuries Based on ACTN3 R577X and ACE I/D Polymorphisms in Professional Soccer Athletes

Kathleen Y de Almeida  1 , Tiago Cetolin  2 , Andrea Rita Marrero  3 , Aderbal Silva Aguiar Junior  2 , Pedro Mohr  4 , Naoki Kikuchi  1
Affiliations

A Pilot Study on the Prediction of Non-Contact Muscle Injuries Based on ACTN3 R577X and ACE I/D Polymorphisms in Professional Soccer Athletes

Kathleen Y de Almeida et al. Genes (Basel). .

Abstract

Muscle injuries are among the main reasons for medical leavings of soccer athletes, being a major concern within professional teams and their prevention associated with sport success. Several factors are associated with a greater predisposition to injury, and genetic background is increasingly being investigated. The aim of this study was to analyze whether ACTN3 R577X and ACE I/D polymorphisms are predictors of the incidence and severity of muscle injury in professional soccer athletes from Brazil, individually and in association. Eighty-three professional athletes from the first and second divisions of the Brazilian Championship were evaluated regarding the polymorphisms through blood samples. Nighty-nine muscle injuries were identified during the seasons of 2018, 2019 and 2020 and categorized according to severity. ACTN3 XX individuals had a higher frequency of severe injuries compared to the RX and RR genotypes (p = 0.001), and in the dominant model (compared to RX+RR), with p < 0.001. The trend p-value test showed an increased number of injuries/season following the order XX > RX > RR (p = 0.045). Those with the ACE II genotype had almost 2 fold the number of injuries per season compared to those with the ID+DD genotypes (p = 0.03). Logistic regression showed that the polymorphisms are predictors of the development of severe injury (ACTN3 R577X model with p = 0.004, R2: 0.259; ACE I/D model with p = 0.045, R2: 0.163), where ACTN3 XX individuals were more likely to suffer from severe injury (OR: 5.141, 95% CI: 1.472-17.961, p = 0.010). The combination of the ACTN3 577X allele and the ACE II genotype showed an increased number of injuries per season, enhanced by 100% (1.682 injuries/season versus 0.868 injuries/season, p = 0.016). Our findings suggest that both polymorphisms ACTN3 R577X and ACE I/D (and their interaction) are associated with the susceptibility and severity of non-contact muscle injury in soccer players.

Keywords: ACE; ACTN3; muscle injury; polymorphism; soccer.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of severe and non-severe muscle injuries according to the ACTN3 R577X genotypes (p = 0.001).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Trend p-value of the ACTN3 R577X genotypes and injury per season. There is an increase following the order XX > RX > RR (p = 0.045).
Figure 3
Figure 3
ACTN3 R577X and ACE I/D interaction on the incidence of muscle injury per season, adjusted by weight and age (p = 0.016).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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