NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Genes may play a role in whether a person having their hip replaced will develop an infection or experience loosening of the hip, UK researchers report.

Three proteins (MMP-1, IL-6 and vitamin D receptor) are all thought to play a role in the biological pathway leading to failure of total hip replacement, the researchers note. Therefore, variants of the genes for these proteins may determine an individual's susceptibility to total hip replacement failure and need for additional intervention to retain the implant.

The UK team assessed the genetic makeup of 91 total hip replacement patients who experienced early loosening of the implant that was not related to infection and 71 with deep infection after receiving a new hip. A total of 150 patients with no apparent problems after hip replacement served as controls.

Dr. M. H. A. Malik, from The University of Manchester, and colleagues found that patients with a particular variant of MMP-1 were more than three times more likely to experience non-infection-related failure of the implant than were controls.

By contrast, variants of the other proteins studied did not affect the risk of non-infection-related loosening.

The team also found that specific variants of the vitamin D receptor increased by nearly two-fold the risk of deep infection-related degeneration of surrounding bone tissue.

"The findings of this study are novel and will require verification by further studies," the researchers caution.