Association of gene polymorphism of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 with rheumatoid arthritis in the Chinese Han population / 中国组织工程研究

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is an important cytokine signaling pathway, which plays an important role in inflammatory diseases. However, it is unclear whether gene polymorphism of STAT3 is associated with rheumatoid arthritis in the Chinese Han population. OBJECTIVE: To explore the association of gene polymorphism of STAT3 with rheumatoid arthritis in the Chinese Han population. METHODS:Four tag-single-nucleotide polymorphisms (tag-SNPs) in STAT3 were selected from the Chinese Han population of HapMap database. The study was performed with 228 rheumatoid arthritis cases and 228 normal controls. Four tag-SNPs (rs12601982, rs2293152, rs8078731 and rs9912773) were examined by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The frequency of GG genotype at rs9912773 was 18.9% and 10.5% respectively in rheumatoid arthritis and control groups, and there was a significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.05). These results indicate the possible association between the STAT3 gene polymorphism at rs9912773 and the susceptibility of rheumatoid arthritis in the Chinese Han population.