Association of the A561C E-selectin polymorphism with systemic lupus erythematosus in 2 independent populations

Objective. E-selectin is expressed on cytokine stimulated endothelial cells and plays an important role in leukocyte-endothelium interactions and infl ammatory cell recruitment. The gene for E-selectin is located at chromosome 1q23-25 within the linkage area for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Th e best characterized polymorphism in E-selectin molecule is A561C. which co des for Ser128Arg. We studied the prevalence of the A561C E-selectin gene p olymorphism in patients with SLE and controls from 3 different ethnic popul ations. Methods. Three cohorts of patients with SLE (1987 American College of Rheum atology criteria) and matching population controls were studied. These cons isted of Caucasians of British Isles descent, Caucasians of Spanish origin, and Caucasians of Turkish origin. We used polymerase chain reaction and re striction fragment length polymorphism to genotype patients and controls. Results. The numbers of patients and controls in each group were: UK (113 a nd 148), Spanish (145 and 179), and Turkish (93 and 96), respectively. The C allele occurred more frequently in UK and Spanish patients (OR 1.76, 95% CI 1.03-3.0, p = 0.037 and OR 1.84, 95% CI 1.1-3.09, p = 0.019), but not in Turkish patients (OR 1.03, 95% CI 0.55-1.97, p = 0.91). Conclusion. In 2 of 3 populations studied, the E-selectin C allele was sign ificantly more common in SLE than in controls. E-selectin may be a suscepti bility gene to SLE in these populations. Its role in disease expression and longterm outcomes such as accelerated atherosclerosis requires further stu dy.