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The Fc gammaRIIIA-158F allele is a risk factor for systemic lupus erythematosus
H R Koene1, M Kleijer, A J Swaak
1Central Laboratory of The Netherlands Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service, and Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam.
Objective:
To study whether the Fc gammaRIIIA-158V/F polymorphism, which affects IgG binding affinity, is a risk factor for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
Methods:
We genotyped a group of 70 Caucasian SLE patients for all known Fc gammaR polymorphisms. Of this group, 45 patients (64%) had nephritis. In 35 patients, this diagnosis was confirmed by renal biopsy.
Results:
In the total group of 70 SLE patients, the frequency of the Fc gammaRIIIA-158F allele was 0.74, versus 0.57 in healthy controls (P = 0.003). The genotype distribution of the Fc gammaRIIIA-158V/F polymorphism was also significantly different from that of the control population (P = 0.004). The distribution of the other Fc gammaR polymorphisms--Fc gammaRIIA-131R/H, Fc gammaRIIIB-NA(1,2), and Fc gammaRIIIA-48L/R/H--was similar in SLE patients and controls.
Conclusion:
In our group of SLE patients, only the distribution of the alleles of the Fc gammaRIIIA-158V/F polymorphism was significantly different from that in the control group. This might indicate that macrophage expression of the Fc gammaRIIIA-158F isoform is involved in the disturbed clearance of immune complexes in patients with SLE.