beta2-adrenergic receptor gene single-nucleotide polymorphisms are associated with rheumatoid arthritis in northern Sweden

Scand J Rheumatol. 2004;33(6):395-8. doi: 10.1080/03009740410010326.

Abstract

The beta2-adrenergic receptor (beta2-AR) belongs to the group of G-protein-coupled receptors and is present on skeletal and cardiac muscle cells and on lymphocytes. The gene encoding beta2-AR (ADRB2) displays a moderate degree of heterogeneity in the human population and the distributions of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at amino acid positions 16, 27, and 164 are changed in asthma, obesity, and hypertension and in the autoimmune disease myasthenia gravis. An involvement of the beta2-AR has also been suggested in human rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and its animal model. We describe here an increased prevalence of the alleles Arg16 and Gln27 and a lower prevalence of homozygosis for Gly16 and Glu27 in patients with RA. Patients having the genotype combination GlyGly16-GlnGlu27 had higher levels of rheumatoid factor (RF) and a more active disease than other patients. Patients having the genotype Arg16-Gln27+ had higher levels of RF when compared to those having Arg16+Gln27+, and patients who were carriers of Gln27 had a more active disease than non-carriers of Gln27. Our results show an association of beta2-AR SNPs with RA in a population from the northern part of Sweden. Our study also confirms the strong linkage disequilibrium of genotypes at amino acid positions 16 and 27.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Alleles
  • Arthritis, Rheumatoid / diagnosis
  • Arthritis, Rheumatoid / epidemiology
  • Arthritis, Rheumatoid / genetics*
  • Base Sequence
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Cohort Studies
  • Confidence Intervals
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Regulation
  • Genetic Predisposition to Disease*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Odds Ratio
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide*
  • Probability
  • Prognosis
  • Receptors, Adrenergic, beta-2 / genetics*
  • Reference Values
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Sweden / epidemiology

Substances

  • Receptors, Adrenergic, beta-2