title: Associations between STAT3 rs744166 polymorphisms and susceptibility to ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease: a meta-analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Many studies have investigated the associations between the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) in the susceptibility to ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD). However, the results remain inconsistent. This meta-analysis determined the risk of STAT3 rs744166 polymorphism-conferred UC and CD susceptibility.
  
  
  METHODS
  Electronic databases, including PubMed, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library, were searched for all eligible studies that evaluated the association between STAT3 rs744166 polymorphisms with UC and CD risk up to August 21, 2014. The pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated using fixed- or random-effects models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twelve studies containing 10298 patients with CD, 4244 patients with UC and 11191 controls were included in this meta-analysis. The results indicated that the STAT3 rs744166 polymorphism was associated with CD and UC susceptibility (CD: GA+AA vs. GG, OR = 1.20, 95%CI, 1.11-1.30, I2 = 0%, Punadjusted<0.00001, PBonferroni<0.00005, PFDR<0.00001; UC: GA+AA vs. GG, OR = 1.21, 95%CI, 1.08-1.36, I2 = 1%, Punadjusted = 0.001, PBonferroni = 0.005, PFDR = 0.00125). In subgroup analyses by ethnicity, the significant association was found only among Caucasians. However, when grouped by age of onset, positive associations were found both among adults and children. In addition, when stratified by study design and genotyping methods, the risk of CD was significantly associated with the STAT3 rs744166 polymorphism in hospital-based and population-based groups and in SNP Array and SNPlex groups. For UC, significant associations were also found in population-based, PCR-RFLP and SNPlex groups. Moreover, these findings were sufficiently robust to withstand the Bonferroni correction and false discovery rate (FDR).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This meta-analysis indicates that carriers of the STAT3 rs744166 'A' allele have a significantly greater risk of CD and UC, especially among Caucasians.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
authors.forename: Jixiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Wuhan medical treatment center, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
authors.forename: Jianhong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The Fifth Hospital of Wuhan, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
authors.forename: Xiulan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
authors.forename: Weiguo
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Dong
mesh_terms: D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000235:genetics*; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000235:genetics*; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor