Abstract: Objective： To investigate the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of ADAMTS14 gene rs4747096 and osteoarthritis of the temporomandibular joint in Chinese Han females. Methods: As a case-control study, a total of 213 Chinese Han females were involved in the present stu-dy, which contained 103 temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis patients and 110 healthy people who had no symptoms or signs of temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis as control. Peripheral blood samples were collected from each participant. Genomic DNAs of temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis patients and healthy control were extracted from peripheral venous blood, which were stored in -80 ℃ refrigerator by using DNA extraction kits. The designed primers were used for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of specific DNA fragments. Genotype was determined by sequencing the PCR products. The software Chromas 2.22 was used to analyze the genotype. The genotype distributions, allele frequencies and genetic models between the patients and controls were compared. The age distribution was checked by t-test. Genotype and allele frequency were detected by Chi-square test. Results: In the present study, there were no significant differences between the osteoarthritis patients and healthy controls in terms of age. The genotype distribution was in accordance with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in the two groups. The genotype frequency of the ADAMTS14 (rs4747096) in the experimental group was 38.8% (AA), 55.4% (AG), and 5.8% (GG), respectively. The genotype frequency in the control group was 40.9% (AA), 43.6% (AG), and 15.5% (GG), respectively. The difference of genotype frequency of the ADAMTS14 (rs4747096) was significant between the experimental group and the control group (P=0.047). There was no significant difference in allele frequency between the two groups (P=0.415). AA and AG genotypes significantly increased the risk of the disease compared with GG in dominant model (OR=1.114, 95% CI: 1.015-1.223, P=0.028). Conclusion: A significant correlationship was found between the ADAMTS14 (rs4747096) SNP and the temporomandibular joint osteo-arthritis in Chinese Han females. The distribution of rs4747096 may be different between temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis and healthy population.

Key words: Temporomandibular joint, Osteoarthritis, ADAMTS14, Single nucleotide polymorphism, Female