Abstract
CASPASE-12 (CASP12) has a downregulatory function during infection and thus may protect against inflammatory disease. We investigated the distribution of CASP12 alleles (#rs497116) in African-Americans (AA) with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). CASP12 alleles were genotyped in 953 RA patients and 342 controls. Statistical analyses comparing genotype groups were performed using Kruskal–Wallis non-parametric ANOVA with Mann–Whitney U tests and chi-square tests. There was no significant difference in the overall distribution of CASP12 genotypes within AA with RA, but CASP12 homozygous patients had lower baseline joint-narrowing scores. CASP12 homozygosity appears to be a subtle protective factor for some aspects of RA in AA patients.
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Acknowledgement
We are grateful for the careful review of the manuscript by Drs. Alison McCormick and Paul Goldsmith, to our anonymous reviewer for suggestions on data presentation, to Drs. H. Eduardo Velasco and Hemant Tiwari for help with statistical analyses, and for the always helpful and rapid administrative support by Ms Stephanie Ledbetter.
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Marshall, L., Obaidullah, M., Fuchs, T. et al. CASPASE-12 and rheumatoid arthritis in African-Americans. Immunogenetics 66, 281–285 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00251-014-0762-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00251-014-0762-9