Polymorphisms in the Promoter Region of RANTES and the Regulatory Region of Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein-1 Among Chinese Children with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

CHIANG-HUA LIAO, TSUNG-CHIEH YAO, HUNG-TAO CHUNG, LAI-CHU SEE, MING-LING KUO, and JING-LONG HUANG

ABSTRACT.

Objective. Chemokines play an important role in the physiology and pathophysiology of acute and chronic inflammatory processes. We investigated whether chemokines such as RANTES (regulated upon activation, normally T cell expressed and secreted) promoter and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) regulatory polymorphisms were associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in Chinese children.

Methods. Forty-six patients with SLE and 107 healthy children of comparable ages were studied for genotypes with polymerase chain reaction-based assays.

Results. The frequency and distribution of genotypes of the –28(C/G) RANTES gene polymorphism were significantly different between the 2 groups (p < 0.001), and the RANTES –28G allele was significantly more frequent in patients with SLE than in healthy controls (23.9% vs 11%; p = 0.006, OR 2.37, 95% CI 1.25–4.28). There was no significant difference in the frequency or in the distribution of genotypes of the –2518(A/G) MCP-1 and the –403(G/A) RANTES gene polymorphisms between patients and controls (p = 0.32 and p = 0.19, respectively). The RANTES –28G allele was also significantly associated with higher initial levels of antinuclear antibody, lower levels of C3, and higher incidences of central nervous system lupus.

Conclusion. In the Chinese population, children with RANTES –28C/G polymorphisms have increased risk of developing SLE. Healthy controls with the C/G or G/G genotype were 2.37 times more likely to have SLE compared to those with the C/C genotype. (J Rheumatol 2004;31:2062-7)

Key Indexing Terms:

CHEMOKINE
CYTOKINE
POLYMORPHISM
CHINESE
LUPUS
SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

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From the Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Children's Hospital and Chang Gung University; Biostatistics Consulting Center, Department of Public Health, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University; and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Graduate Institute of Basic Medical Science, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.

C-H. Liao, MD; T-C. Yao, MD; H-T. Chung, MD, Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Children's Hospital; L-C. See, PhD, Biostatistics Consulting Center, Department of Public Health, Chang Gung University College of Medicine; M-L. Kuo, PhD, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Graduate Institute of Basic Medical Science; J-L. Huang, MD, Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Children's Hospital.

Address reprint requests to Dr. J-L. Huang, Division of Allergy, Asthma and Rheumatology, Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Children's Hospital, 5 Fu-Hsin Street, Kweishan, Taoyuan, Taiwan. E-mail: long@adm.cgmh.org.tw

Submitted September 8, 2003; revision accepted April 19, 2004.

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