The study on alpha 1-antitrypsin expression in the synovial tissues of patients with ankylosing spondylitis / 中华风湿病学杂志

ABSTRACT

ObjectiveTo investigate the expression of ATA1 in the synovial tissue from patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and to localize expression of ATA1 in AS synovial membranes.In addition,tag SNPs were genotyped to determine the possible association of this gene with AS risk.MethodsWestern blotting analysis was applied to determine the expression of ATA1 in the synovial tissues by comparing the expression profiles of AS(n=8),rheumatoid arthritis(RA,n=9) and osteoarthritis(OA,n=9) samples.Immuno-histochemistry was used to localize the expression of ATA1 in the synovial membrane.The levels of ATA1 in the synovial fluid of patients with AS were determined using ELISA with OA and RA as controls.Taqman method was used to genotype tag SNPs (rs2753934,rs2749531 and rs6575424) in 56 AS cases,260RA cases and 160 healthy controls.ANOVA,LSD test andx2 test were used for statistical analysis.Results Increased expression of ATA1 in synovial membranes of AS was found when compared with samples from RA and OA.ELISA results showed significantly elevated level of ATA1 in the synovial fluid of patients with AS (1.6+0.6),but not in samples of RA(1.4±0.5) and OA (1.2±0.5)(P＜0.05).Haplotype analysis did not reveal a haplotype association in AS or RA(P＞0.05).ConclusionThe current findings suggest that upregulation of ATA1 may play an important role in the pathogenesis of AS.