p53 codon 72 polymorphism and rheumatoid arthritis

Objective. To investigate whether the p53 codon 72 polymorphism is associat ed with susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and its clinical featur es. Methods. A polymerase chain reaction of genomic DNA-restriction fragment le ngth polymorphism was used to determine genotypes of the p53 codon 72 in 11 4 patients with RA and 114 healthy controls. Clinical/serological manifesta tions were analyzed in each patient and correlated with the genotypes. Results. The genotype distribution of the p53 codon 72 did not differ betwe en patients with RA and controls (Arg/Arg, Arg/Pro, Pro/Pro genotypes 38, 5 8, 18 vs 37, 60, 17 controls, respectively; chi-square = 0.08, 2 df, p = 0. 96). No significant difference was found in allele frequencies between the groups. Clinically there was no significant difference in age at onset, fun ctional class, physician's global assessment. ESR, CRP, RF titer, extraarti cular and cervical spine involvement, frequencies of joint operation. and a dmission in RA patients according to the p53 codon 72 genotypes. However, t he number of patients within each group was extremely small, for example on ly 5 patients with cervical spine involvement. No firm conclusions could sa fety be reached about clinical manifestations from this study. Conclusion. No association was found between the p53 codon 72 polymorphism and RA. Studies are needed to clarify the role of the p53 polymorphism in t he pathogenesis of RA.