Association of Ccr1, Klrc4, Il12a-As1, Stat4, and Erap1 With Behcet’S Disease in Iranians Publisher Pubmed



Sousa I^{1, 3} ; Shahram F² ; Francisco D^{1, 3} ; Davatchi F² ; Abdollahi BS² ; Ghaderibarmi F² ; Nadji A² ; Shafiee NM² ; Xavier JM^{1, 3} ; Oliveira SA^{1, 3}
Source: Arthritis and Rheumatology Published:2015

Abstract

Objective. To independently replicate the top findings from 4 published genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of susceptibility genes in Behcet’s disease (BD). Methods. We tested 14 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 13 genomic loci (excluding the major histocompatibility complex [MHC], IL10, and IL23RIL12RB2, which have already been associated with BD in Iranians) for allelic and genotypic associations with BD in 973 patients and 828 controls from Iran and performed meta-analyses of the significantly associated markers. Results. Six SNPs (in decreasing order of significance, rs7616215 located 38 kb downstream of CCR1, rs2617170 [p.Asn104Ser] in KLRC4, rs17810546 in IL12A-AS1, rs7574070 in STAT4, and rs10050860 [p.Asp575Asn] and rs13154629 in ERAP1) were nominally associated with BD in both allelic association tests (5.05 x 10-9 ≤ Pallele ≤ 7.55 x10-3) and sex-adjusted genotypic association tests (6.01 x 10-9 ≤ adjusted P value ≤ 1.30 x 10-2). For all 6 SNPs tested by meta-analysis (Pmeta), the association with BD was strengthened, because the direction and magnitude of association were similar across populations (e.g., for rs7574070, odds ratio [OR] for A allele 1.29 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.21-1.37], Pmeta = 2.34 x 10-16; for rs7616215, OR for C allele 0.70 [95% CI 0.65-0.76], Pmeta = 1.54 x 10-19; for rs17810546, OR for A allele 0.60 [95% CI 0.52-0.70], Pmeta = 6.34 x 10-11; for rs2617170, OR for T allele 0.76 [95% CI 0.70-0.81], Pmeta = 2.75 x 10-14; for rs13154629, OR for TT genotype 2.76 [95% CI 2.01-3.80], Pmeta = 3.57 x 10-10). Conclusion. This study reinforces the notion that CCR1, KLRC4, IL12A-AS1, STAT4, and ERAP1 are bona fide susceptibility genes for BD, in addition to the MHC, IL10, and IL23R-IL12RB2 loci. Future genetic and functional studies are now warranted to uncover the roles of these genes in the pathogenesis of BD. © 2015, American College of Rheumatology.