Association between IFNA genotype and the risk of sarcoidosis
HUMAN GENETICS
Authors: Akahoshi, M; Ishihara, M; Remus, N; Uno, K; Miyake, K; Hirota, T; Nakashima, K; Matsuda, A; Kanda, M; Enomoto, T; Ohno, S; Nakashima, H; Casanova, JL; Hopkin, JM; Tamari, M; Mao, XQ; Shirakawa, T
Abstract
Sarcoidosis is known to be a systemic granulomatous disorder characterized by a cell-mediated Th1-type inflammatory response. To identify a key genetic factor in the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis, we investigated single nucleotide polymorphisms within 10 candidate genes involved in type 1 immune process (IFNA17, IFNB, IFNG, IFNGR1, IFNGR2, IL12B, IL12RB1, IL12RB2, ETA-1, and NRAMP1) in an association-based study of 102 Japanese patients with sarcoidosis, 114 with tuberculosis, and 110 control subjects. After correction for multiple testing, an IFNA17 polymorphism (551T-->G) was found to be associated with susceptibility to sarcoidosis (odds ratio 3.27 [95% CI: 1.44-7.46], P=0.004, P-c=0.04), but not to tuberculosis. We observed no significant associations with the other polymorphisms of the Th1-related genes. We further typed another IFNA polymorphism (IFNA10 60T-->A) and confirmed two major haplotypes of the IFNA gene, viz., allele 1: IFNA10 [60T]-IFNA17 [551T] and allele 2: IFNA10 [60A]-IFNA17 [551G], in the Japanese population. In healthy subjects, IFNA allele 2, which is over-represented in patients with sarcoidosis, was significantly associated with increased IFN-alpha and IL-12p70 production induced by Sendai virus in vitro. This study suggests that possession of the IFNA allele with higher levels of IFN-alpha significantly increases the risk of sarcoidosis.
Gene polymorphisms of stress hormone and cytokine receptors associate with immunomodulatory profile and psychological measurement
JOURNAL OF PSYCHOSOMATIC RESEARCH
Authors: Xiang, Lianbin; Rehm, Kristina E.; Sunesara, Imran; Griswold, Michael; Marshall, Gailen D., Jr.
Abstract
Objective: We sought to identify whether stable single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of various endocrine and immune molecules could be used as biomarkers associated with specific immune alterations and chronic stress measures in normal humans. Methods: A total of 207 volunteer participants answered stress questionnaire and gave peripheral blood cells for identification of SNPs in genes coding for glucocorticoid receptor (GR), beta 2 adrenergic receptor (B2AR), interferon-gamma receptors (IFNGR1, IFNGR2), and interleukin-4 receptor (IL4R). Immunoregulatory profiles were measured by flow cytometry and genotyping assays were performed by allelic discrimination real-time PCR. Results: Several significant differences were revealed in associations between stress marker and immune indicators based on SNP categories. For instance, Th1 levels of the minor alleles of GR TthIIII (AA) and IFNGR2 Q64R (Arg/Arg) groups were positively associated with chronic stress (PSS) (p = 0.024 and 0.005, respectively) compared with wild type (WT) and negatively associated with PSS in the heterozygous genotypes of GR BclI and IL4R Ile50Val (p = 0.040 and p = 0.052, respectively). Treg levels of the minor alleles of BclI (GG) and IFNGR1 T-56C (CC) groups were positively associated with PSS (p = 0.045 and p = 0.010, respectively) and negatively associated in the minor allele (Val/Val) of IL4RIle50Va and the heterozygous genotype of IL4R Q576R (p = 0.041 and p = 0.017, respectively) compared to WT. Conclusion: The data support the notion that gene polymorphisms from various components of the psychoneuroendocrine-immune network may be useful as biomarkers to categorize individual stress-associated immune responses. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.