Table 2.

Correlation coefficients (Pearson's) and their significance (P; Student's unpaired t-test) are shown for the expression of mTOR, ULK1, p21,  caspase 3, and TNFα genes in OA patients and healthy subjects in relation to each other and clinical traits.

Set 1 patients	mTOR	ULK1	Caspase  3	TNFα
“Low mTOR” subset OA patients (n = 15)
Caspase 3				0.645  P = 0.009
Pain on walking	−0.568  P = 0.02
Pain on standing	−0.701  P = 0.004
Total physical function			−0.674   P = 0.007
Total WOMAC			−0.633  P = 0.007
BMD L1–L4			0.544  P = 0.03
BMD total femur			0.580  P = 0.02
“High mTOR” subset OA patients (n = 32)
mTOR		0.369  P = 0.03	0.408  P = 0.02	0.691  P < 0.001
P21	0.360  P = 0.04	0.683  P < 0.001		0.354  P = 0.04
Caspase 3				0.502  P = 0.003
BMI	0.432  P = 0.01
BMD L1–L4		0.454  P = 0.009
BMD femoral neck	0.439  P = 0.01
ESR				0.442  P = 0.01
End-stage OA patients (n = 14)
mTOR				0.549  P = 0.04
ULK1				0.813  P < 0.001
P21		0.770  P = 0.001		0.756  P = 0.02
Healthy subjects
TNFα	−0.560  P = 0.03	0.639  P = 0.01	0.556  P = 0.03

Only significant data are presented. ESR: erythrocyte sedimentation rate; WOMAC: Western Ontario and McMaster Universities osteoarthritis index; BMD: bone mineral density; BMI: body mass index.