Susceptibility of autoimmune diseases in three polymorphisms of infection-associated gene IRAK1

Infection of pathogenic microorganisms is an important reason for autoimmune diseases (ADs). Interleukin-1 (IL-1) receptor-associated kinase-1 (IRAK1) is a key mediator in infection immunity, while the gene of IRAK1 is recognized as a risk gene in ADs. Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in IRAK1 (rs3027898, rs1059702, rs1059703) are considered to be associated with ADs risk. However, the results are conflicting. We conducted this study to get more precise estimations.

PubMed, OvidSP, and CNKI databases (published prior to August 2014) were searched, and data was extracted from eligible studies. The procedure of statistical analysis was performed using STATA 12.0 software. A random effect model or fixed effect model was chosen based on the between-study heterogeneities.

Of the studies involved, 11 studies included 10,705 cases (9,865 controls) for rs3027898, 9 studies included 15,005 cases (14,997 controls) for rs1059702, and 7 studies included 8,115 cases (6,815 controls) for rs1059703. Overall, the results showed that there were significant associations with ADs risk in three genetic models for rs3027898 and in four genetic models for rs1059702, but in neither model for rs1059703. Moreover, in stratified analyses, different extents of associations were found in some different genetic models for all three SNPs.

Our data demonstrated that these three SNPs (rs3027898, rs1059702, rs1059703) in IRAK1 were associated with ADs risk.