Association of Chemokine CXCL12-3' G801A Polymorphism with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in a Han Chinese population

CXCL12, also known as stromal cell-derived factor (SDF-1), is a CXC chemokine. Recent reports have shown that CXCL12 might play key roles in a murine model of lupus and in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). A common variant at position 801 in 3′-untranslated region in CXCL12 gene (designated CXCL12-3′G801A) has been reported in association with autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes and systemic sclerosis. We investigated the influence of CXCL12-3′G801A polymorphism on susceptibility to SLE by genotyping this single nucleotide polymorphism in 422 SLE patients and 374 healthy controls. The frequency of G/G homozygote was observed in 60.0% of SLE patients and in 52.7% of healthy individuals (χ2 = 4.275, p = 0.039). Compared with patients with G/A and A/A genotype, SLE patients with G/G genotype were also more prone to developing photosensitivity (χ2 = 6.778, p = 0.034), renal damage (χ2 = 6.388, p = 0.041) and to producing antibodies against nucleosomes (χ2 = 8.341, p = 0.015). Moreover...