Association Study of Single Nucleotide Polymorphism rs17337023 of EGFR Gene with Rheumatoid Arthritis in Southwest Iran

Abstract

ntroduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is auto immune disease, affecting approximately up to 1% of the adult population worldwide. The rheumatoid fibroblast has a manifest tumor-like behavior. Several cytokine activate this fibroblast through tyrosine kinase growth factor receptor. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has a cru- cial role in the RA development. Objective: The present study aimed to determined polymorphism (151904A→T [T628T]c) of this gene in the population of the southwest of Iran.Material and methods: The study subjects con- tained RA patients and healthy (unrelated to RA patients) recruited from Golstan hospital in Ahvaz, Khuzestan. Patients with RA according to the revised ACR criteria were applied. Case-control study were genotyped using tet- ra amplification refractory mutation system-polymerase chain reaction (T-ARMS-PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) based method for determining gene polymorphism of EGFR. Data were analyzed by SPSS software, using x2 test. Results were considered statistically significant if the observed level of significance is P <0.05.Results: Genotypes and allelic frequencies in each group were compared. The frequency of EGFR TT geno- type was significantly higher in patient group than control group. The frequency of A allele and AA genotype in control group were significantly higher than in patient group. Discussion and conclusion: The EGFR gene polymor- phism is related to an increased susceptibility to RA. So we suggest that this polymorphism contributes to the de- velopment of this disease. EGFR may be involved in the progression of RA. However, further investigations are required before this can be confirmed.