TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTOR BETA-1 (TGFB1) AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPINE DEFORMATION IN CHILDREN WITH IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOOSIS
Idiopathic scoliosis is one of the most common diseases of the musculoskeletal system among pediatric patients. Despite the fact that the disease is still considered idiopathic, one of the likely causes of the development of this pathology is considered to be genetic in nature. Transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGFB1) is a polyfunctional cytokine whose expression is associated with the physiological processes of growth, differentiation, regeneration, and stress response in many types of body cells. During periods of active morphogenesis, high levels of transcripts and/or proteins are observed in connective tissues, one of them is TGFB1, a factor of their growth and differentiation. 111 patients with progressive course of idiopathic scoliosis aged 14 to 18 years and 123 children of the control group underwent clinical and molecular genetic examination. In the study, it was found that the relationship between the development of spinal deformity in patients with idiopathic scoliosis and the presence of unfavorable polymorphic variants of the TGFB1 C509T gene is statistically weak, but when the study groups of patients are divided into subgroups according to phenotypic characteristics, the chance to find a common risk factor increases.