Fc receptor-like 3 gene polymorphisms confer susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis in a Chinese population

Polymorphisms in the Fc receptor-like 3 (FCRL3) gene have been reported to be associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Japanese populations. However subsequent studies have yielded conflicting results. Hence the aim of present study was to clarify whether these genetic variants in FCRL3 gene are associated with RA in a Chinese population. We conducted a case-control study of 234 RA patients and 260 controls by genotyping four polymorphisms in FCRL3. The genotype and allele distributions of four polymorphisms were significantly different in RA patients compared with controls (uncorrected p = 0.021 and p = 0.031; 0.027 and 0.008; 0.028 and 0.042; and 0.019 and 0.029, respectively). The FCRL3-169 C allele was significantly associated with rheumatoid factor (RF) and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP)-positive RA, but no association was detected for RF and anti-CCP-negative RA. Furthermore, the frequency of the -169C allele was increased disproportionately in female patients, and the resulting odds ratio for female homozygote was increased to 2.375 (uncorrected p = 0.006). Haplotype analysis showed that the most common haplotype TGGG was associated with decreased risk of RA (uncorrected p = 0.001, odds ratio = 0.656). However CACA appeared to be a risk haplotype for RA cases (uncorrected p = 0.031, odds ratio = 1.398). Taken together, these results suggest that FCRL3 polymorphisms and haplotypes may contribute to genetic susceptibility to RA in Chinese population.