Abstract:

OBJECTIVES: To investigate associations between signal transducer and activator of transcription 4 (STAT4), one of the most commonly acknowledged genes for the risk of multiple autoimmune diseases, with susceptibility to adult-onset polymyositis/dermatomyositis among Japanese individuals.
METHODS: A single nucleotide polymorphism of STAT4, rs7574865, was genotyped using TaqMan assay in 1143 Japanese individuals. The first set comprised 138 polymyositis/dermatomyositis patients and 289 controls and the second set comprised 322 patients and 394 controls. 460 patients (273 polymyositis and 187 dermatomyositis patients) and 683 controls were genotyped.
RESULTS: rs7574865T conferred a risk of polymyositis/dermatomyositis with an OR of 1.37 (95% CI 1.16 to 1.64; p=4x10(-4); p(corr)=0.0012). Both polymyositis and dermatomyositis exhibited high associations with the rs7574865T allele (polymyositis: OR=1.36, 95% CI 1.11 to 1.67; p=0.0039; p(corr)=0.012; dermatomyositis: OR=1.40, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.78; p=0.0054; p(corr)=0.016). The association between this STAT4 polymorphism and interstitial lung disease (ILD) was also investigated in the first set of polymyositis/dermatomyositis patients (n=138); those with ILD (n=79) bore rs7574865T more frequently compared with controls (OR 1.59, 95% CI 1.10 to 2.28; p=0.013; p(corr)=0.039).
CONCLUSION: This is the first study to show a positive association between a STAT4 polymorphism and polymyositis/dermatomyositis, suggesting that polymyositis/dermatomyositis shares a gene commonly associated with the risk of other autoimmune diseases.

日本語要旨:

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 4 (STAT4)遺伝子は、様々な自己免疫疾患の発症リスクと関連していることが知られている。460名の多発筋炎／皮膚筋炎患者と680名の対照群のSTAT4遺伝子解析を行ったところ、MEGF10遺伝子のrs7574865T多型の頻度が多発筋炎／皮膚筋炎患者で有意に高いことが明らかとなった。