Complement receptor 1 gene polymorphisms in sarcoidosis

Sarcoidosis is likely to result from exposure of genetically susceptible hosts to environmental agents. Erythrocyte (E) complement receptor I (CRI) is a membrane protein mediating the transport of immune complexes (ICs) to phagocytes, and at least three polymorphisms on the CRI gene are related to erythrocyte surface density of CRI molecules, in turn related to the rate of IC clearance from circulation. We hypothesized that sarcoidosis could be associated with increased frequency of the CRI gene alleles coding for reduced CR1/E ratio. We studied 91 sarcoid patients and two control groups: 94 healthy volunteers and 71 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Three polymorphic sites of CRI gene, His1208Arg, intron 27 HindIII/RFLP, and Pro1827Arg, were analyzed. The three polymorphisms were in linkage disequilibrium. The GG genotype for the Pro1827Arg (C(5507)G) polymorphism was significantly associated with sarcoidosis in comparison to both control groups (odds ratio [OR] = 3.13; 95% confidence interval [Cl] 1.49-6.69 versus healthy control subjects, and OR = 2.82, 95% Cl 1.27-6.39 versus COPD control subjects). The same genotype was particularly associated to disease in females (OR = 7.05; 95% Cl 3.10-16.61 versus healthy control subjects). These findings agree with speculations on the role of CRI gene as a possible susceptibility factor.