Ankylosing spondylitis is associated with the anthrax toxin receptor 2 gene (ANTXR2)

T. Karaderi, S. M. Keidel, J. J. Pointon, L. H. Appleton, M. A. Brown, D. M. Evans, B. P. Wordsworth*

*Corresponding author for this work
19 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objectives ANTXR2 variants have been associated with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in two previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) (p∼9×10-8). However, a genome-wide significant association (p<5×10-8) was not observed. We conducted a more comprehensive analysis of ANTXR2 in an independent UK sample to confirm and refine this association.

Methods A replication study was carried out with 2978 cases and 8365 controls. Then, these were combined with non-overlapping samples from the two previous GWAS in a meta-analysis. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B27 stratification was also performed to test for ANTXR2-HLA-B27 interaction.

Results Out of nine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the study, five SNPs were nominally associated (p<0.05) with AS in the replication dataset. In the meta-analysis, eight SNPs showed evidence of association, the strongest being with rs12504282 (OR=0.88, p=6.7×10-9). Seven of these SNPs showed evidence for association in the HLA-B27-positive subgroup, but none was associated with HLA-B27-negative AS. However, no statistically significant interaction was detected between HLA-B27 and ANTXR2 variants.

Conclusions ANTXR2 variants are clearly associated with AS. The top SNPs from two previous GWAS (rs4333130 and rs4389526) and this study (rs12504282) are in strong linkage disequilibrium (r2≥0.76). All are located near a putative regulatory region. Further studies are required to clarify the role played by these ANTXR2 variants in AS.

Original languageEnglish
JournalAnnals of the Rheumatic Diseases
Volume73
Issue number11
Pages (from-to)2054-2058
Number of pages5
ISSN0003-4967
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2014
Externally publishedYes

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