1
|
Chairta P, Psarelis S, Michailidou K, Demetriou C, Symeonidou S, Nicolaou P, Christodoulou K. Genetic Susceptibility to Systemic Sclerosis in the Greek-Cypriot Population: A Pilot Study. Genet Test Mol Biomarkers 2020; 24:309-317. [PMID: 32315557 PMCID: PMC7232649 DOI: 10.1089/gtmb.2019.0255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Systemic Sclerosis (SSc), also known as scleroderma, is an autoimmune rheumatic disease, which is clinically subdivided into two major subgroups; limited (lcSSc) and diffuse cutaneous scleroderma (dcSSc). Even though the SSc etiologies remains unclear, some HLA and non-HLA genetic variants have been associated with the disease. Aim: This study was designed to evaluate the associations between several HLA-related genetic variants and SSc in the Greek-Cypriot population. Methods: Forty-one SSc patients and 164 controls were genotyped at 18 selected single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) using restriction fragment length polymorphism analyses, Sanger sequencing, and a multiplex SNaPshot minisequencing assay. Logistic regression analysis under the log-additive model was used to evaluate all possible associations between these SNPs and SSc; nominal statistical significance was assumed at p < 0.05. Results: Associations of SSc with SNPs rs3117230, rs3128930, and rs3128965 within the HLA-DPB1 and HLA-DPB2 regions were observed in the Greek-Cypriot population at the level of p < 0.05. However, none of these associations survived a Bonferroni correction. The direction of the effect is consistent with the direction reported in previous studies. In addition, allele frequencies of the majority of the selected SNPs in the Greek-Cypriot population are similar to those reported in the European population. Conclusion: This study initiates the genetic investigation of SSc in the Greek-Cypriot population, a relatively small newly investigated population. Further investigation with a larger sample size and/or additional SSc susceptibility loci may confirm the association of some of these variants with SSc in the Greek-Cypriot population that could potentially be used for predictive testing.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Paraskevi Chairta
- Neurogenetics Department, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia, Cyprus.,Cyprus School of Molecular Medicine, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Savvas Psarelis
- Rheumatology Department, Nicosia General Hospital, Nicosia, Cyprus.,Medical School, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Kyriaki Michailidou
- Cyprus School of Molecular Medicine, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia, Cyprus.,Biostatistics Unit, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | | | - Sofia Symeonidou
- Rheumatology Department, Nicosia General Hospital, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Paschalis Nicolaou
- Neurogenetics Department, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia, Cyprus.,Cyprus School of Molecular Medicine, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Kyproula Christodoulou
- Neurogenetics Department, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia, Cyprus.,Cyprus School of Molecular Medicine, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia, Cyprus
| |
Collapse
|