title: The Influence of Polymorphisms of Interleukin-17A and -17F Genes on Susceptibility and Activity of Rheumatoid Arthritis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The roles of interleukin (IL)-17A and IL-17F in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been previously studied. However, the relationships between polymorphisms (IL-17A G197A, the IL-17F 7488A/G, and the IL-17F 7383A/G) of these genes with RA have not been clarified yet.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the impacts of these polymorphisms on the severity and susceptibility of RA in a Turkish population.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred sixty-one patients with RA and 88 healthy sex-, age-, and ethnicity-matched controls were enrolled in this study. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein (CRP), and disease activity scores 28 (DAS28) of all participants were recorded. The IL-17A G197A, the IL-17F 7488A/G, and 7383A/G polymorphisms were determined using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found no significant difference regarding genotypes or allelic frequency distributions of the IL-17A G197A, the IL-17F 7383A/G, and 7488A/G polymorphisms between patients and healthy controls (p>0.05). There were slight, but not significant, differences in terms of CRP levels associated with the distribution of the genotypes of the IL-17F 7488A/G, and regarding DAS28 levels according to the genotype distribution of the IL-17A G197A polymorphism (p=0.062, 0.087, 0.052, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that future larger scale studies with increased power should be performed to determine if the IL-17F 7488A/G and the IL-17A G197A polymorphisms are associated with the disease activity in patients with RA.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Süleyman Demirel University , Isparta, Turkey .
authors.forename: Esra
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Erkol İnal
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Medical Genetics, Bursa Şevket Yılmaz Education and Research Hospital , Bursa, Turkey .
authors.forename: Orhan
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Görükmez
authors.affiliation: 3 Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Afyon Kocatepe University , Afyon, Turkey .
authors.forename: Ümit
authors.initials: Ü
authors.lastname: Dündar
authors.affiliation: 4 Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Uludağ University , Bursa, Turkey .
authors.forename: Özlem
authors.initials: Ö
authors.lastname: Görükmez
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Süleyman Demirel University , Isparta, Turkey .
authors.forename: Mahmut
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yener
authors.affiliation: 4 Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Uludağ University , Bursa, Turkey .
authors.forename: Şebnem
authors.initials: Ş
authors.lastname: Özemri Sağ
authors.affiliation: 4 Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Uludağ University , Bursa, Turkey .
authors.forename: Tahsin
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yakut
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D020381:Interleukin-17 / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D012307:Risk Factors; D014421:Turkey
chemical_list: C508717:IL17A protein, human; C440021:IL17F protein, human; D020381:Interleukin-17