title: Macrophage migration inhibitory factor gene: influence on rheumatoid arthritis susceptibility.
abstract: The macrophage inhibitory factor (MIF) is a cytokine that has been implicated in several inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus, glomerulonephritis, and multiple sclerosis. In rheumatoid arthritis (RA), results ranging from lack of association of MIF polymorphisms with RA, to involvement in either severity or susceptibility to the disease have been reported in the past. We aimed at investigating the role of this gene in RA in the Spanish population. Two well-known MIF promoter polymorphisms were tested in 606 adult RA patients and 886 healthy controls: a single nucleotide polymorphism at -173G/C and a tetranucleotide repeat (CATT)(5-8) located at -794. We found a significant association of the allele -173C with RA (p = 0.01; odds ratio [OR] = 1.31; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.06-1.62). The -173C risk allele, previously reported to be transmitted in excess in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, was significantly more frequent in early-onset adult RA patients than in healthy controls (p = 0.003; OR = 1.57; 95% CI = 1.14-2.15), whereas late-onset patients were not significantly different to controls (p = 0.6; OR = 1.09; 95% CI = 0.77-1.55). In conclusion, the -173C allele in the MIF promoter region is associated with increased RA predisposition, mainly in early-onset patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Immunology, Hospital Clinico San Carlos, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.forename: Gisela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Orozco
authors.forename: Jezabel
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Varadé
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sánchez López
authors.forename: Dora
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pascual
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Balsa
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: García
authors.forename: Emilio G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: de la Concha
authors.forename: Benjamín
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fernández-Gutiérrez
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Martín
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Urcelay
mesh_terms: D017668:Age of Onset; D000818:Animals; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D008263:Macrophage Migration-Inhibitory Factors / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008875:Middle Aged; D017354:Point Mutation; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic
chemical_list: D008263:Macrophage Migration-Inhibitory Factors