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CIITA is not associated with risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis

Genes & Immunity volume 12, pages 235–238 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II transactivator gene (CIITA) encodes an important transcription factor regulating genes required for human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II MHC-restricted antigen presentation. MHC genes, particularly HLA class II, are strongly associated with risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Given the strong biological relationship between CIITA and HLA class II genes, a comprehensive investigation of CIITA variation in RA was conducted. This study tested 31 CIITA single-nucleotide polymorphisms in 2542 RA cases and 3690 controls (N=6232). All individuals were of European ancestry, as determined by ancestry informative genetic markers. No evidence for association between CIITA variation and RA was observed after a correction for multiple testing was applied. This is the largest study to fully characterize common genetic variation in CIITA, including an assessment of haplotypes. Results exclude even a modest role for common CIITA polymorphisms in susceptibility to RA.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Farren Briggs, Benjamin Goldstein, Alan Hubbard and Ira Tager for helpful discussion, as well as study participants. This work was supported by an Abbott Graduate Student Achievement Award (ACR REF), grants F31 AI075609, R01 AI065841 and R01 AI059829 (NIH/NIAID), and grants RO1 AR44422, NO1 AR22263, R01 AR050267, K24 AR02175 (NIH/NIAMS). The contents of this article are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH, NIAID or NIAMS. This study makes use of data generated by the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium; a full list of the investigators who contributed to the generation of the data is available from http://www.wtccc.org.uk, and funding for the project was provided by the Wellcome Trust under award 076113. These studies were performed in part in the General Clinical Research Center, Moffitt Hospital, University of California, San Francisco, with funds provided by the National Center for Research Resources, 5 M01 RR-00079, United States Public Health Service.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Epidemiology, Genetic Epidemiology and Genomics Laboratory, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

    P G Bronson, P P Ramsay & L F Barcellos

  2. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA

    M F Seldin

  3. Robert S Boas Center for Genomic and Human Genetics, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, USA

    P K Gregersen

  4. Department of Medicine, Rosalind Russell Medical Research Center for Arthritis, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA

    L A Criswell

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  1. P G Bronson
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  2. P P Ramsay
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  3. M F Seldin
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  4. P K Gregersen
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  5. L A Criswell
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  6. L F Barcellos
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Correspondence to L F Barcellos.

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Bronson, P., Ramsay, P., Seldin, M. et al. CIITA is not associated with risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. Genes Immun 12, 235–238 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/gene.2010.67

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