rs6457617

Case-control study of 345 Indian women examining the association between HLA-DQB1 (rs6457617) and IL-1β-511 (rs16944) polymorphisms and cervical cancer risk. The A-allele of HLA-DQB1 showed OR=2.07 (95% CI 1.12-3.87, p=0.01) for cancer development, while the T-allele of IL-1β-511 showed OR=2.03-2.56. Combined presence of both minor alleles significantly increased risk (OR=3.54, 95% CI 1.41-9.06, p=0.002) in HPV16/18-infected women.

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.

Case-control study of 673 preterm birth (PTB) cases vs 1,119 controls across four maternal cohorts testing 35 SNPs in cardiovascular, inflammatory, and metabolic disease genes. Found 13 statistically significant associations with PTB (P<0.05), more than expected by chance (binomial P=0.02). Most significant was HLA-DQA1 rs9272346 G allele protective effect in US White mothers (P=0.02, OR=0.65, 95% CI 0.46-0.94), which nominally replicated in Danish cohort (P=0.02, OR=0.85, 95% CI 0.75-0.97) but lost significance after correction for multiple testing.

This review article updates the genetics of systemic sclerosis (SSc), a multifactorial autoimmune disease. Key findings include identification of multiple susceptibility genes through candidate studies (STAT4 rs7574865, PTPN22 rs2476601, CD226 rs763361, TNFAIP3 rs5029939, and others) and genome-wide association studies revealing loci at HLA, STAT4, CD247, TNPO3/IRF5, and novel regions (TNIP1, RHOB). A large GWAS (N=2,296 cases/5,171 controls) identified HLA-DQB1 (rs6457617) as the strongest association and replicated CD247 rs2056626. Gene-gene interaction studies demonstrated additive effects of STAT4, IRF5, and NLRP1 variants on disease susceptibility.

This study applied Bayesian epistasis association mapping (BEAM/BEAM2) methods to genome-wide association studies data from the Welcome Trust Case Control Consortium (WTCCC) to identify high-order SNP interactions in rheumatoid arthritis. The analysis identified 319 high-order epistatic interactions across the genome, with many validated using data from the North American Rheumatoid Arthritis Consortium (NARAC). Key findings include inter-chromosomal interactions primarily on chromosomes 1, 3, 6, and 9, with enriched GO terms implicating synapse, calcium ion binding, and membrane pathways.

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.

A case-control association study of 1,316 Korean RA patients and 1,006 controls found that rs7021206 in TRAF1 intron 3 is significantly associated with rheumatoid arthritis susceptibility (OR 1.21, P = 0.0037), while rs3761847, which is associated with RA in Caucasians, showed no association in Koreans due to different linkage disequilibrium patterns. Fine-mapping identified a 66-kb haplotype region spanning TRAF1 containing variants associated with RA across both Asian and Caucasian populations.

This genome-wide association study (GWAS) of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region identified 299 SNPs reaching locus-wide significance (P < 2.3 × 10⁻⁵) for anti-citrullinated protein antibody (ACPA)-positive rheumatoid arthritis (RA). After adjusting for HLA-DRB1 shared epitope alleles, HLA-DPB1 emerged as an independent risk locus with rs3117213 showing the strongest association (odds ratio 1.42, 95% CI 1.17–1.73, P = 0.0003). No significant MHC associations were found for ACPA-negative RA, indicating distinct genetic patterns between the two disease subsets.

A two-stage genome-wide association study (GWAS) in Spanish population identified KLF12 as a new susceptibility locus for rheumatoid arthritis, with rs1324913 showing stronger association (P=0.01) in replication than PTPN22 rs2476601. Joint analysis with three previous GWAS studies confirmed KLF12 and PTPRT as commonly associated loci, with KLF12 SNP rs1887346 and rs9318228 showing P values of 6.03×10⁻⁵ and 3.66×10⁻⁵ in the discovery phase and evidence of replication across multiple populations.

This comprehensive review article traces the evolution of pharmacogenetics from single-gene analysis to whole-genome approaches. It discusses validated pharmacogenetic biomarkers with clinical impact including CYP2D6, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, TPMT, DPD, VKORC1, UGT1A1, and ADRB1/ADRB2, providing examples of how genetic variants affect drug metabolism and response. The paper emphasizes the importance of integrating pharmacogenetic information into clinical practice and drug development.