Association analysis of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 gene polymorphisms with primary biliary cirrhosis in Japanese patients.
OBJECTIVE
Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is an organ-specific autoimmune disease of still unidentified genetic etiology that is characterized by chronic inflammation of the liver. Since cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA4) polymorphisms have recently been linked with PBC susceptibility in studies on Caucasians, we investigated the genetic association between CTLA4 polymorphisms and PBC in a Japanese population.


METHODS
Five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the CTLA4 gene (rs733618, rs5742909, rs231775, rs3087243, and rs231725) were genotyped in 308 patients with PBC and 268 healthy controls using a TaqMan assay.


RESULTS
One CTLA4 gene SNP (rs231725) was significantly associated with susceptibility to anti-mitochondrial antibody (AMA)-positive PBC, but clinical significance disappeared after correction for multiple testing. Moreover, CTLA4 gene SNPs did not influence AMA development or disease progression to orthotopic liver transplantation in our Japanese cohort. In haplotype analyses, one haplotype [haplotype 1 (CGGA)] at rs5742909, rs231775, rs3087243, and rs231725, was significantly associated with susceptibility to both AMA-positive PBC and overall PBC.


CONCLUSIONS
This study showed that CTLA4 gene polymorphisms had a modest, but significant association with susceptibility to PBC in the Japanese population. The connection between genetic variants and the function of the CTLA4 gene remains to be addressed in future investigations.
Joshita
Satoru
S
Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Shinshu University School of Medicine, 3-1-1 Asahi, Matsumoto 390-8621, Japan.
Umemura
Takeji
T
Yoshizawa
Kaname
K
Katsuyama
Yoshihiko
Y
Tanaka
Eiji
E
Nakamura
Minoru
M
Ishibashi
Hiromi
H
Ota
Masao
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000235:genetics*; D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood; D060908:CTLA-4 Antigen; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006239:Haplotypes; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008105:Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000276:immunology; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D012307:Risk Factors
D015703:Antigens, CD; D001323:Autoantibodies; D060908:CTLA-4 Antigen; C556706:CTLA4 protein, human