The association between the PTPN22 C1858T polymorphism and rheumatoid arthritis: a meta-analysis update

Association of HLA-G polymorphisms with systemic lupus erythematosus and correlation between soluble HLA‑G levels and the disease: a meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the association between HLA‑G polymorphisms and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) susceptibility as well as the relationship between circulating soluble HLA‑G (sHLA‑G) levels and SLE.

METHODS

A meta-analysis was performed to investigate the relationships between HLA‑G 14-bp insertion (I)/deletion (D), +3142 G/C, +3035 T/C, and +3003 C/T polymorphisms and SLE as well as the relationship between sHLA‑G serum/plasma levels in SLE patients and controls.

RESULTS

Eleven publications fulfilled our inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis under the dominant model showed an association in the overall group between the II+ID genotype of HLA‑G 14-bp I/D polymorphism and SLE (OR = 1.213, 95%CI = 1.077-1.365, P = 0.001). Ethnicity-specific meta-analysis showed an association between II+ID and SLE in Asians but not in South American and European populations. No correlation was observed using the allele contrast between HLA‑G +3142 G/C polymorphisms and SLE. Contrastingly, +3035 T/C and +3003 C/T meta-analysis showed a significant allelic association between SLE and HLA‑G polymorphisms (OR = 1.378, 95%CI = 1.109-1.713, P = 0.004; OR = 1.834, 95%CI = 1.112-3.022, P = 0.017; respectively). sHLA‑G levels were significantly higher in the SLE group than in the controls (SMD = 0.637, 95%CI = 0.382-0.892, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

We showed association of HLA‑G 14-bp I/D, +3035 T/C, and +3003 C/T polymorphisms with SLE susceptibility and significantly higher circulating sHLA‑G levels in SLE patients.

Association between functional NLRP3 polymorphisms and susceptibility to autoimmune and inflammatory diseases: a meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

This study determined whether NLRP3 polymorphisms rs35829419 C/A and rs10754558 C/G were associated with autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.

METHODS

An association between the NLRP3 rs35829419 C/A and rs10754558 C/G polymorphisms and autoimmune and inflammatory diseases was determined by performing a meta-analysis by using (1) allele contrast, (2) recessive, (3) dominant, and (4) co-dominant models.

RESULTS

Thirty comparative studies involving 8069 patients and 8824 controls were included in the meta-analysis. No association was observed between autoimmune and inflammatory diseases and NLRP3 rs35829419 C allele (OR = 1.020, 95% CI = 0.804-1.295, p = 0.869). Stratification by ethnicity showed no association between the NLRP3 rs35829419 C allele and autoimmune and inflammatory diseases in European, Latin American, and Polynesian populations. Stratification by disease type showed no association between the NLRP3 rs35829419 C allele and gout, SLE, RA, celiac disease, and Crohn's disease. Moreover, no association was observed between autoimmune and inflammatory diseases and the NLRP3 rs10754558 C allele (OR = 1.057, 95% CI = 0.950-1.177, p = 0.310). However, stratification by ethnicity showed an association between the NLRP3 rs10754558 C allele and autoimmune and inflammatory diseases in the Latin American (OR = 1.399, 95% CI = 1.201-1.630, p = 1.6 × 10^-6) but not in European and Asian populations. Further, stratification by disease type showed a significant association of the NLRP3 rs10754558 C allele with SLE (OR = 1.465 95% CI = 1.144-1.875, p = 0.002) but not with gout and celiac disease. The same pattern was observed for the NLRP3 rs10754558 C allele in the recessive model.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results indicated that the NLRP3 rs10754558 C/G polymorphism was associated with susceptibility to SLE and with autoimmune and inflammatory diseases in Latin American individuals.

Association of PTPN22 rs2476601 and STAT4 rs7574865 polymorphisms with rheumatoid arthritis: A meta-analysis update

BACKGROUND

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common autoimmune disease with a complex genetic background. The genes encoding protein tyrosine phosphatase non-receptor type 22 (PTPN22) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 4 (STAT4) have been reported to be associated with RA in several ethnic populations.

OBJECTIVES

This work aims to assess the association between PTPN22 rs2476601 and STAT4 rs7574865 polymorphisms with RA susceptibility through an updated meta-analysis of available case-control studies.

METHODS

A literature search of all relevant studies published from January 2007 up to December 2014 was conducted using Pubmed and Science Direct databases. The observed studies that were related to an association between PTPN22 rs2476601 and STAT4 rs7574865 polymorphisms with RA susceptibility were identified. Meta-analysis of the pooled and stratified data was done and assessed using varied genetic models.

RESULTS

Thirty-seven case-control studies with a total of 47 comparisons (29 for PTPN22 rs2476601 polymorphism and 18 for STAT4 rs7574865 polymorphism) met our inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis showed an association between PTPN22 T allele, CT+TT and TT genotypes with RA susceptibility. Furthermore, The meta-analysis showed an association between STAT4 T allele, GT+TT and TT genotypes with RA susceptibility. Stratification of RA patients according to ethnic groups showed that PTPN22 T allele, CT+TT genotypes, STAT4 T allele and STAT4 GT+TT were significantly associated with RA in European, Asian, African subjects, while PTPN22 TT genotype was significantly associated with RA in European but not in Asian and African subjects and STAT4 TT genotype was significantly associated with RA in European and Asian but not in African subject. A subgroup analysis according to the presence or absence of rheumatoid factor (RF) and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibodies revealed that the association between PTPN22 rs2476601 and STAT4 rs7574865 polymorphisms with RA susceptibility may not be dependent on RF and anti-CCP antibodies.

CONCLUSIONS

Our meta-analysis demonstrated that PTPN22 rs2476601 and STAT4 rs7574865 polymorphisms confers susceptibility to RA in total subjects and in major ethnic groups. The association may not be dependent on RF and anti-CCP antibodies.

The intestinal microbiota: its role in health and disease

The intestinal microbiota (previously referred to as "intestinal flora") has entered the focus of research interest not only in microbiology but also in medicine. Huge progress has been made with respect to the analysis of composition and functions of the human microbiota. An "imbalance" of the microbiota, frequently also called a "dysbiosis," has been associated with different diseases in recent years. Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis as two major forms of inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and some infectious intestinal diseases such as Clostridium difficile colitis feature a dysbiosis of the intestinal flora. Whereas this is somehow expected or less surprising, an imbalance of the microbiota or an enrichment of specific bacterial strains in the flora has been associated with an increasing number of other diseases such as diabetes, metabolic syndrome, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease or steatohepatitis and even psychiatric disorders such as depression or multiple sclerosis. It is important to understand the different aspects of potential contributions of the microbiota to pathophysiology of the mentioned diseases.

CONCLUSION

With the present manuscript, we aim to summarize the current knowledge and provide an overview of the different concepts on how bacteria contribute to health and disease in animal models and-more importantly-humans. In addition, it has to be borne in mind that we are only at the very beginning to understand the complex mechanisms of host-microbial interactions.

Lessons from type 1 diabetes for understanding natural history and prevention of autoimmune disease

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic autoimmune disorder resulting from immune-mediated destruction of insulin-producing beta cells within the pancreatic islets. Prediction of T1D is now possible, as having 2 or more islet autoantibodies confers a 100% risk of diabetes development. With the ability to predict disease development, clinical trials to prevent diabetes onset have been completed and are currently under way. This review focuses on the natural history, prediction, and prevention trials in T1D. We review the lessons learned from these attempts at preventing a chronic autoimmune disease and apply the paradigm from T1D prevention to other autoimmune disorders.

PTPN22 1858C>T gene polymorphism in patients with SLE: association with serological and clinical results

To assess the association between PTPN22 1858C>T gene polymorphism and susceptibility to, and clinical presentation of, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Our study included 135 SLE patients (120 women and 15 men; mean age 45.1 years; mean course of disease from 0.5 to 31 years) and 201 healthy subjects. The PTPN22 1858C>T gene polymorphism was genotyped by polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism. A significantly higher incidence of genotype CT in patients with SLE (36.3 %) was found, compared with the control group (24.9 %). The frequencies of C1858 and T1858 alleles were 78.1 and 21.9 % in SLE patients and 86.1 and 13.9 % in controls, respectively. Significantly higher SLE susceptibility was observed in patients carrying at least one T allele (p = 0.009; OR 1.86; 95 % CI 0.14–3.05). Significant association of the PTPN22 T1858 allele (CT + TT vs.CC) and secondary antiphospholipid syndrome was observed (p = 0.049). In SLE patients carrying the T1858 allele, higher levels of antiphospholipid antibodies (anticardiolipin antibodies and/or lupus anticoagulant) were found (p = 0.030; OR 2.17; 95 % CI 1.07–4.44).

The association of SCGB3A2 polymorphisms with the risk of Graves' disease: a meta-analysis

The aim of this study is to assess the association of the SCGB3A2 -112G>A promoter polymorphism with Graves' disease(GD) using a meta-analysis. Relevant studies were identified using PubMed and EMBASE electronic databases. A meta-analysis of relevant studies was performed. This meta-analysis included four case-control studies, containing 6,913 GD cases (Caucasian 3904, Han 3009) and 7,185 controls(Caucasian 4155, Han 3030). The combined results showed a significant difference in genotype distribution (-112A/G) between GD and control populations (A vs. G P = 1.53 × 10(-7); GG vs. AA+AG P = 6.78 × 10(-9)). Meta-analysis was performed using a fixed-effects model. Under the dominant model (GG/AA + GA), the AA and GA genotypes were significantly associated with GD (pooled OR = 1.24, 95 % CI 1.12-1.37). When the two European studies are combined, the AA and GA genotypes were also significantly associated with GD (pooled OR = 1.29, 95 % CI 1.20-1.39). This meta-analysis suggests that SCGB3A2 polymorphism at positions -112G>A was associated with GD both in Chinese and Caucasian population.

Genetics in rheumatoid arthritis beyond HLA genes: what meta-analyses have shown?

OBJECTIVE

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a complex disorder with many genetic and environmental factors to account for disease susceptibility. Individual genetic association studies usually suffer from small sample size leading to biased results of polymorphisms association with RA liability. Therefore, meta-analyses seem to resolve this limitation, up to a point, increasing the power of statistical analyses. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of non-HLA genetic factors contributing to RA predisposition based on meta-analyses.

METHODS

Using the key words: rheumatoid arthritis, meta-analysis, and polymorphism, we searched the PubMed database for the associated articles. Up to the middle of November 2012, seventy-nine articles fulfilled the criteria and highlighted the current findings on the genetic factors contributing to RA susceptibility.

RESULTS

The association with RA was confirmed for 32 gene polymorphisms, being population specific in some cases. However, meta-analyses did not confirm an association in case of 16 gene variants, previously studied in individual studies for their association with RA.

CONCLUSIONS

The use of bioinformatics tools and functional studies of the summarized implicated genes in RA pathogenesis could shed light on the molecular pathways related to the disorder, helping to the development of new drug targets for a better treatment of RA.