The association between single-nucleotide polymorphisms of NCF2 and systemic lupus erythematosus in Chinese mainland population

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex immune disease. The genetic variation in the NCF2 gene was found to associate with SLE in US and European populations. However, the association of rs10911363 with SLE was not extensively studied in Chinese mainland population. A total of 488 SLE patients and 380 controls were recruited. Unlabeled probe-based high-resolution melting analysis (HRMA) was used in genotyping. HRMA with unlabeled probe successfully distinguished all genotypes. Neither genotype nor allele frequencies of single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs10911363 showed statistically significant differences between SLE patients and controls. The association of SNP rs10911363 with the diagnostic criteria of SLE was also examined. Minor allele (G) of rs10911363 was found to significantly associate with the incidence of arthritis (p = 0.024, odds ratio (OR) = 1.35, and 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.04-1.75) and increased abnormalities of antinuclear antibody (p = 0.002, OR = 1.51, and 95%CI = 1.17-1.95) and anti-DNA (p = 0.013, OR = 1.40, and 95%CI = 1.07-1.82). Polymorphisms of rs13277113 in NCF2 gene were associated with arthritis and autoantibody production, but not disease risk, of SLE in Chinese population.