A functional RANKL polymorphism associated with younger age at onset of rheumatoid arthritis.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

We previously observed the association of the co-occurrence of the HLA-DRB1 shared epitope (SE) and RANKL single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with younger age at the onset of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in 182 rheumatoid factor (RF)-positive European American patients with early-onset RA. The aim of this study was to fine-map the 48-kb RANKL region in the extended cohort of 210 European American RF-positive patients with early RA, to seek replication of RA-associated SNPs in additional RA cohorts of 501 European Americans and 298 African Americans, and to explore the functional consequences of RA-associated SNPs.

Methods

SNP genotyping was conducted using pyrosequencing or TaqMan polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays. Associations of rs7984870 with RANKL expressi

SUBMITTER: Tan W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2944013 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature