Association of ACTN3 Gene R577X Polymorphism and Athletic Performance:A Meta-Analysis

Objective:To investigate the association between α-actinin-3(ACTN3) gene R577X polymorphism and athletic performance by meta analysis.Method:Search related literature before Oct.2010 and identify including and excluding criteria,odds ratios of XX/(RR+RX) and X/R between endurance athletes and controls,RR/(RX+XX) and R/X between sprint/power athletes and controls also were selected,then heterogeneity test,data merge,regression analysis for heterogeneity and publication bias were done.Result:11 studies were related to endurance events including 2 220 athletes and 3 410 controls,whereas 10 studies were related to sprint / power events including 1 140 athletes and 2 800 controls.In sprint/power events,RR/(RX+XX) OR and R/X OR were 1.40(95% CI=1.21¹.62,P<0.01) and 1.33(95%CI=1.20¹.48,P<0.01),respectively.Sub-category analysis showed RR/(RX+XX) OR and R/X OR were 1.37(95%CI=1.17¹.60,P<0.01) and 1.37(95%CI=1.22¹.53,P<0.01) in Europeans,respectively.Both Egger's and Begg's test revealed that there were no significant publication bias found.Conclusion:In addition to racial diversity of genotype frequency and allele frequency distribution,RR genotype and R allele are regarded as protective factors of speed/power performance.RR genotype and R allele were association with elite speed/power performance in Europeans.ACTN3 gene R577X polymorphism could be one of the candidate gene sites in talent identification of speed/power events,whereas it lacked sufficient evidence for application in endurance events.