Analysis of the influence of PTPN22 gene polymorphisms in systemic sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE: Two functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the PTPN22 gene (rs24746601 and rs33996649) have been associated with autoimmunity. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the R263Q SNP for the first time and to re-evaluate the role of the R620W SNP in the genetic predisposition to systemic sclerosis (SSc) susceptibility and clinical phenotypes. METHODS: 3422 SSc patients (2020 with limited cutaneous SSc and 1208 with diffuse cutaneous SSc) and 3638 healthy controls of Caucasian ancestry from an initial case--control set of Spain and seven additional independent replication cohorts were included in our study. Both rs33996649 and rs2476601 PTPN22 polymorphisms were genotyped by TaqMan allelic discrimination assay. A meta-analysis was performed to test the overall effect of these PTPN22 polymorphisms in SSc. RESULTS: The meta-analysis revealed evidence of association of the rs2476601 T allele with SSc susceptibility (p(FDRcorrected)=0.03 pooled, OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.28). In addition, the rs2476601 T allele was significantly associated with anticentromere-positive status (p(FDRcorrected)=0.02 pooled, OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.42). Although the rs33996649 A allele was significantly associated with SSc in the Spanish population (p(FDRcorrected)=0.04, OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.36 to 0.92), this association was not confirmed in the meta-analysis (p=0.36 pooled, OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.72 to 1.1). CONCLUSION: The study suggests that the PTPN22 R620W polymorphism influences SSc genetic susceptibility but the novel R263Q genetic variant does not. These data strengthen evidence that the R620W mutation is a common risk factor in autoimmune diseases.

BANK1 functional variants are associated with susceptibility to diffuse systemic sclerosis in Caucasians.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the possible association of the BANK1 gene with genetic susceptibility to systemic sclerosis (SSc) and its subphenotypes. METHODS: A large multicentre case-control association study including 2380 patients with SSc and 3270 healthy controls from six independent case-control sets of Caucasian ancestry (American, Spanish, Dutch, German, Swedish and Italian) was conducted. Three putative functional BANK1 polymorphisms (rs17266594 T/C, rs10516487 G/A, rs3733197 G/A) were selected as genetic markers and genotyped by Taqman 5 allelic discrimination assay. RESULTS: A significant association of the rs10516487 G and rs17266594 T alleles with SSc susceptibility was observed (pooled OR=1.12, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.22; p=0.01 and pooled OR=1.14, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.25; p=0.003, respectively), whereas the rs3733197 genetic variant showed no statistically significant deviation. Stratification for cutaneous SSc phenotype showed that the BANK1 rs10516487 G, rs17266594 T and rs3733197 G alleles were strongly associated with susceptibility to diffuse SSc (dcSSc) (pooled OR=1.20, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.37, p=0.005; pooled OR=1.23, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.41, p=0.001; pooled OR=1.15, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.31, p=0.02, respectively). Similarly, stratification for specific SSc autoantibodies showed that the association of BANK1 rs10516487, rs17266594 and rs3733197 polymorphisms was restricted to the subgroup of patients carrying anti-topoisomerase I antibodies (pooled OR=1.20, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.41, p=0.03; pooled OR=1.24, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.46, p=0.01; pooled OR=1.26, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.47, p=0.004, respectively). CONCLUSION: The results suggest that the BANK1 gene confers susceptibility to SSc in general, and specifically to the dcSSc and anti-topoisomerase I antibody subsets.

The FAS -670A>G polymorphism influences susceptibility to systemic sclerosis phenotypes.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the possible role of the FAS -670A>G functional polymorphism in the genetic predisposition to systemic sclerosis (SSc) susceptibility or clinical phenotype. METHODS: A total of 2,900 SSc patients and 3,186 healthy controls were included in this study. We analyzed the genotype and allele frequencies of the FAS -670A>G polymorphism in 9 distinct ethnic cohorts, including 6 cohorts of European ancestry (a Spanish cohort of 228 SSc patients and 265 controls, a Dutch cohort of 203 SSc patients and 277 controls, a German cohort of 313 SSc patients and 247 controls, an Italian cohort of 323 SSc cases and 89 controls, a British cohort of 269 SSc patients, and a Swedish cohort of 182 patients) and 3 distinct ethnic cohorts from the US (a cohort of 1,047 white patients and 692 controls, a cohort of 159 Hispanic patients and 137 controls, and a cohort of 176 black SSc patients and 194 controls). Genotyping was performed using a TaqMan 5' allelic discrimination assay. RESULTS: In the British, Italian, and American white cohorts we observed an association of the FAS -670G allele with limited cutaneous SSc (lcSSc) (odds ratios [ORs] 1.25, 1.43, and 1.18, respectively). A meta-analysis comprising all 9 cohorts revealed an association of both the FAS -670G allele (OR 1.10) and the FAS -670GG genotype (OR 1.13) with the lcSSc phenotype. In a meta-analysis including only white subjects, both the FAS -670G allele and the FAS -670GG genotype remained associated with lcSSc (allele OR 1.12; genotype OR 1.16). In addition, a recessive model of the -670GG genotype exhibited a strong association with SSc, lcSSc, and anticentromere antibody-positive lcSSc (OR 1.23, OR 1.33, and OR 1.45, respectively). CONCLUSION: Our data show that the FAS -670A>G polymorphism plays a role in lcSSc susceptibility. A similar trend has been observed in other autoimmune diseases.

An allograft inflammatory factor 1 (AIF1) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) is associated with anticentromere antibody positive systemic sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE: To identify genetic associations between allograft inflammatory factor 1 (AIF1) and systemic sclerosis (SSc), or its subsets, using a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in a replicate case-control study. METHODS: The frequencies of alleles and genotypes of an SNP, rs2269475, for the AIF1 gene were examined in two large independent cohorts of SSc patients (n = 1015 total), and compared with two groups of normal controls (n = 893 total). Both cases and controls were stratified by ethnicity (Caucasian, African American and Hispanic) and by autoantibody status [anti-centromere antibodies (ACA) and anti-topoisomerase I antibody (ATA)]. RESULTS: The minor T allele and CT/TT genotype frequencies of the AIF1 SNP were not observed more frequently in SSc patients of the three ethnic groups (individually or combined) when compared with controls. On the other hand, T and CT/TT frequencies were significantly increased in ACA-positive Caucasian SSc patients, and all ACA-positive SSc patients (the three ethnic groups combined), when compared with ACA-negative SSc patients and with normal controls, with odds ratios of approximately 1.5. CONCLUSION: The data demonstrate a genetic association between AIF1 and the ACA-positive subset of SSc. This polymorphism is a non-synonymous substitution and therefore likely to represent an important functional change in AIF1. Since vascular pathology is a prominent feature in ACA-positive SSc patients, the observed association with a vasculotrophic inflammatory gene is biologically plausible and warrants further research.

Signatures of differentially regulated interferon gene expression and vasculotrophism in the peripheral blood cells of systemic sclerosis patients.

OBJECTIVE: To obtain a global view of the immunological alterations occurring in early systemic sclerosis (SSc) by transcriptional profiling of peripheral blood cells (PBCs). METHODS: Oligonucleotide microarrays were used to compare PBC gene expression profiles in 18 SSc cases (<2 yr duration) and 18 controls matched for race, gender and ethnicity. SSc cases had no prior or current exposure to cytotoxic drugs. PAXgene tubes were used to stabilize RNA during phlebotomy. Changes in gene expression were independently validated by real-time polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: SSc PBCs demonstrated differential expression of 18 interferon-inducible genes. Six of these genes were identical to the interferon signature genes in lupus peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Notably, SSc PBCs also had increased expression of allograft inflammatory factor (AIF1) and several selectins and integrins involved in cellular adhesion to the endothelium. Global analysis of 284 known biological pathways revealed that 13 were differentially regulated in SSc PBCs, including two pathways (IL2RB and GATA3) that lead to T(H)2 polarization. CONCLUSIONS: Transcriptional profiling reliably discriminates between PBCs from SSc and normal donors despite the fact that they represent a heterogeneous cell population. Multiple biological pathways were differentially regulated in SSc PBCs, but a common thread across these pathways was alterations in protein tyrosine kinase 2beta and mitogen-activated protein kinase signalling. Although the SSc PBC gene expression profile demonstrated some parallels with the lupus interferon gene signature, there was also increased expression of transcripts encoding proteins that target PBCs to the endothelium, which might be relevant to the vasculopathy of SSc.