A Tunisian case-control association study of a 6q polymorphism in rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatol Int. 2012 Jun;32(6):1849-50. doi: 10.1007/s00296-011-1996-6. Epub 2011 Jul 22.

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the most common autoimmune inflammatory disease of the joints, is a multifactorial disease, involving both genetic and environmental risk factors. TNFAIP3 (tumor necrosis factor, alpha-induced protein 3) gene located in a region of genetic susceptibility in RA is an attractive candidate to be involved in autoimmunity disorders. Our aim was to test the single nucleotide polymorphism rs6920220 located near TNFAIP3 in a case-control study in Tunisian population. The rare allele rs6920220-A was reported to have a risk effect on RA in several genome-wide association studies. Our results revealed a trend of an association of rs6920220-A allele with RA and genotypes containing this allele were in a higher proportion in RA patients than in matched controls. These findings have to be confirmed by a replication in largest RA and control groups of the same ethnic origin. TNFAIP3 gene may have a key role in autoimmunity through its action as a negative regulator of the NF-κB pathway. Further functional investigations are required to understand the mechanism by which this gene is involved in the RA pathogenesis.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Arthritis, Rheumatoid / epidemiology
  • Arthritis, Rheumatoid / genetics*
  • Arthritis, Rheumatoid / immunology
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Chromosomes, Human, Pair 6*
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / genetics*
  • Female
  • Gene Frequency
  • Genetic Predisposition to Disease
  • Humans
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / genetics*
  • Male
  • Nuclear Proteins / genetics*
  • Odds Ratio
  • Phenotype
  • Polymorphism, Genetic*
  • Risk Assessment
  • Risk Factors
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha-Induced Protein 3
  • Tunisia / epidemiology

Substances

  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • Nuclear Proteins
  • TNFAIP3 protein, human
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha-Induced Protein 3