rs2812378

This functional study integrates epigenomic datasets (ATAC-seq, Hi-C, ChIP-seq, RNA-seq) from fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) to map the functional relevance of 101 fine-mapped rheumatoid arthritis GWAS associations. FLS regulatory elements account for 24% of RA heritability, and the study assigns putative target genes to RA risk loci, identifying TNFAIP3, IFNAR1, CDK6, RBPJ and others as disease-relevant genes. TNF stimulation reveals dynamic chromatin interactions and differential gene expression at RA-associated regulatory regions.

This extended UK genome-wide association study identified a novel rheumatoid arthritis susceptibility locus at 22q12 (rs1043099, P = 6.9 × 10⁻⁹, OR = 0.84) in 3,034 cases and 5,271 controls, and confirmed 16 previously known RA loci, strengthening evidence for genetic contributors to RA in the UK population.

This study examined 27 previously identified rheumatoid arthritis (RA) risk alleles in 556 autoantibody-positive African-American RA cases and 791 controls. Twenty-four of 27 SNPs showed consistent odds ratios between African-Americans and Europeans; three SNPs (CCR6 rs3093023, TAGAP rs394581, TNFAIP3 rs6920220) showed opposite directions of effect. A genetic risk score analysis indicated that African-American cases were significantly enriched for European RA risk alleles (p=0.00005), suggesting that RA genetic risk factors are largely shared across ancestry groups.

This association study of 664 German Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) patients and 952 controls evaluated 22 SNPs across 13 candidate genes identified from RA and SLE studies. The strongest finding was a protective four-SNP IRF5 haplotype (rs2004640_G/rs60344245_del/rs2070197_T/rs10954213_G) with reduced WG risk (p=0.0000897, OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.62-0.85). SNPs in TNFAIP3 and CDK6 also showed nominally significant associations, suggesting WG shares some genetic risk factors with other autoimmune diseases.

This multi-cohort genetic association study of 1,283 RA patients found that the PTPRC/CD45 gene variant rs10919563 (G allele) is associated with favorable response to anti-TNF therapy (OR 0.55, P=0.0001). Of 31 established RA risk alleles tested, only PTPRC reached genome-wide significance for therapy response, with stronger associations in autoantibody-positive patients (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.39-0.76) compared to seronegative patients.

This cohort study of 2,324 subjects with inflammatory polyarthritis tested 17 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) susceptibility SNPs for association with all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. Carriage of the CCL21 risk allele rs2812378 was associated with increased CVD mortality (HR 1.33, 95% CI 1.01-1.75) and all-cause mortality (HR 1.40, 95% CI 1.04-1.87), with the strongest effects observed in anti-CCP antibody-positive patients with both the CCL21 risk alleles and shared epitope (SE) alleles (all-cause HR 3.20, 95% CI 1.52-6.72; CVD HR 3.73, 95% CI 1.30-10.72). SNPs at the TRAF1/C5 locus were not significantly associated with mortality in this study.

A case-control study of 1,123 Korean rheumatoid arthritis patients and 1,008 controls found that genetic variants at PTPN22, TRAF1/C5, 6q23, 4q27, CD40, and CCL21 previously associated with Caucasian RA were not associated with Korean RA. The PADI4 variant rs2240340 showed strong association (p=1.15×10⁻⁸, OR=1.43), demonstrating substantial genetic heterogeneity between ethnic populations.

This association study examined whether six genetic variants identified in RA susceptibility studies also influence radiographic joint destruction severity. In ACPA-positive RA patients, rs4810485 in CD40 showed significant association with increased radiographic progression rate (1.12x greater annual Sharp score increase per risk allele, P=0.003), which was independently replicated in the NARAC cohort (P=0.021). This represents the first non-HLA-related genetic severity factor for RA progression that has been replicated across independent cohorts.

PhD thesis describing comprehensive genome-wide association studies of acute anterior uveitis (AAU) in European (2,752 cases, 3,836 controls) and East Asian (821 cases, 4,898 controls) populations. European descent GWAS identified HLA-B at genome-wide significance plus 11 suggestive loci (ERAP1, NOS2, MERTK). East Asian GWAS identified HLA-B and ERAP1 at genome-wide significance plus 12 suggestive loci (GPR68, RHBDD2). Mendelian randomization confirmed ERAP1 as functionally relevant and showed genetically predicted CRP levels positively associated with AAU risk.