Interleukin–1 receptor antagonist gene polymorphism as a disease severity factor in systemic lupus erythematosus

✍ Scribed by Alexandra I. F. Blakemore; Joanna K. Tarlow; Michael J.Cork; Caroline Gordon; Paul Emery; Gordon W. Duff

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1994
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 626 KB
• Volume: 37
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0004-3591
• DOI: 10.1002/art.1780370917

✦ Synopsis

We have previously described associations between an allele of the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist gene (ILlRN) and several inflammatory diseases. In this study we tested the ILlRN gene as a possible marker in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Methods. Eighty-one SLE patients and 261 ethnically matched control subjects were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction.

Results. We found an increase in both frequency and carriage rate of ILlRN*2 in the SLE group. This association strengthened with extensive disease and particularly with the presence of photosensitivity and discoid skin lesions.

Conclusion. We describe a novel association between ILlRN*2 and SLE. Carriage of the allele seems to influence severity rather than susceptibility to SLE. We postulate that the association of this polymorphism with disease severity is a widespread feature of common inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.