Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 gene polymorphisms in systemic lupus erythematosus: is there a risk for lupus nephritis among Egyptians?

Abstract

Background Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by immune complexes formation and body organs damage. Recently, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) has been proposed recently to modulate the immune response. Aim of the study To elucidate whether there is possible role of two genetic polymorphisms in the PAI-1 gene: −675 4G/5G and HindIII C>G in lupus nephritis (LN) disease in Egyptian patients. Patients and methods Using PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism, we genotyped 170 Egyptian patients with SLE; 80 fulfill the American College of Rheumatology criteria of LN and 90 SLE patients without LN for two polymorphisms of PAI-1 gene: −675 4G/5G and HindIII C>G. Results The 4G4G genotype, 4G allele of PAI 4G/5G polymorphism, and the G allele of the PAI-1 HindIII C>G polymorphism, all exhibited significant risks for proliferative LN [odds ratio (OR)=2.55; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02–21.11; P=0.022); (OR=2.43; 95% CI: 1.18–5.01; P=0.015); (OR=2.37; 95% CI: 1.01–5.58; P=0.045), respectively]. Moreover, PAI-1 4G/5G polymorphism was related to the chronicity index for LN (P G polymorphism was associated with the activity (P=0.016) and the chronicity (P Conclusion Egyptian patients with SLE with a polymorphism for −675 4G/5G and HindIII C>G of PAI-1 gene might have a higher susceptibility for the development of proliferative LN.