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Genome-wide search for sarcoidosis susceptibility genes in African Americans

Genes & Immunity volume 6, pages 509–518 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

Sarcoidosis, a systemic granulomatous disease of unknown etiology, likely results from an environmental insult in a genetically susceptible host. In the US, African Americans are more commonly affected with sarcoidosis and suffer greater morbidity than Caucasians. We searched for sarcoidosis susceptibility loci by conducting a genome-wide, sib pair multipoint linkage analysis in 229 African-American families ascertained through two or more sibs with a history of sarcoidosis. Using the Haseman–Elston regression technique, linkage peaks with P-values less than 0.05 were identified on chromosomes 1p22, 2p25, 5p15-13, 5q11, 5q35, 9q34, 11p15 and 20q13 with the most prominent peak at D5S2500 on chromosome 5q11 (P=0.0005). We found agreement for linkage with the previously reported genome scan of a German population at chromosomes 1p and 9q. Based on the multiple suggestive regions for linkage found in our study population, it is likely that more than one gene influences sarcoidosis susceptibility in African Americans. Fine mapping of the linked regions, particularly on chromosome 5q, should help to refine linkage signals and guide further sarcoidosis candidate gene investigation.

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Acknowledgements

We thank all family members who participated in our study. This work was supported by National Institutes of Health Grants UO1 HL060263, RO1 GM28356 and P41 RR003655.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    M C Iannuzzi & A S Teirstein

  2. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA

    S K Iyengar, C Gray-McGuire & R C Elston

  3. Department of Internal Medicine, University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    R P Baughman

  4. Pulmonary Division, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    J F Donohue

  5. George Washington University Biostatistics Center, Washington, DC, USA

    K Hirst

  6. Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA

    M A Judson

  7. Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA

    M S Kavuru

  8. Department of Biostatistics and Research Epidemiology, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI, USA

    M J Maliarik & B A Rybicki

  9. Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    D R Moller

  10. Division of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, National Jewish Medical and Research Center, Denver, CO, USA

    L S Newman & C S Rose

  11. Department of Family Medicine and Community Health Care Studies, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA

    D L Rabin

  12. University of Pennsylvania Medical Center Pulmonary and Critical Care Division, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    M D Rossman

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  1. M C Iannuzzi
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Correspondence to M C Iannuzzi.

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Iannuzzi, M., Iyengar, S., Gray-McGuire, C. et al. Genome-wide search for sarcoidosis susceptibility genes in African Americans. Genes Immun 6, 509–518 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.gene.6364235

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