Different Genetic Effects of Interferon Regulatory Factor 5 (IRF5) Polymorphisms on Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in a Korean Population
ObjectiveIn an effort to replicate additional associations of interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) polymorphisms with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in an Asian population, we examined those genetic effects in a Korean SLE cohort.MethodsEach IRF5 polymorphism was genotyped in 1565 subjects using the TaqMan method and examined to determine whether it could explain the association with SLE.ResultsThree single-nucleotide polymorphisms (IRF5-15-1, rs2070197, and rs10488631), which showed strong and/or independent association in Caucasian populations, were not polymorphic in our Korean population. Association analysis revealed different genetic effects in Koreans compared with Caucasian populations. In addition, conditional analysis suggested independent genetic effects of 3 variant groups in the Korean population.ConclusionWe demonstrate different genetic effects of IRF5 polymorphisms on the risk of SLE according to ethnicity.