Abstract

The introduction of tumour necrosis factor antagonists (anti-TNF) has greatly improved the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, however, a significant proportion of patients fail to respond to therapy. We hypothesized that variants spanning the type 2 TNF receptor (TNFR2) and the TNF cleavage enzyme (TACE) genes contribute towards the observed variation in patient response (defined as the absolute change in 28-joint count disease activity score). Twenty-nine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped in a large cohort of patients (n=602) and analysed by multivariate linear regression. Three SNPs (rs520916, rs652625, rs597519) mapping upstream of TNFR2 showed borderline evidence for association (P<0.1) across the complete cohort and, more so, in the etanercept-treated subgroup. However, the evidence of association was neither replicated in an independent cohort (n=377) nor strengthened after combined analysis (n=979). We conclude that common SNPs spanning the TNFR2 and TNF cleavage enzyme (TACE) genes do not have a major effect on the response to anti-TNF therapy in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.