Associations between the FAS −670 A/G and −1,377 G/A polymorphisms and susceptibility to autoimmune rheumatic diseases: a meta-analysis

The aim of this study was to explore whether FAS −670 A/G and −1,377 G/A polymorphisms confer susceptibility to autoimmune rheumatic diseases. A meta-analysis was conducted on the associations between the FAS −670 A/G and −1,377 G/A polymorphisms and autoimmune rheumatic diseases using allele contrast, a recessive model, a dominant model, and an additive model. Thirteen articles with 21 comparison studies (16 on FAS −670 A/G and 5 on −1,377 G/A polymorphisms) including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), four systemic sclerosis, four Sjogren’s syndrome, three rheumatoid arthritis (RA), one juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and one spondyloarthropathy were available for the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis revealed an association between rheumatic diseases and the FAS −670 A/G polymorphism in the dominant model (odds ratio [OR] = 0.761, 95 % confidence interval [CI] = 0.621–0.932, p = 0.008]. Stratification by ethnicity indicated an association between the FAS −670 G allele carrier and rheumatic diseases in Asian (OR = 0.569, 95 % CI = 0.409–0.791, p = 0.001). Furthermore, stratification by disease indicated an association between the FAS −670 G allele carrier and SLE and RA (OR = 0.578, 95 % CI = 0.358–0.934, p = 0.025; OR = 0.609, 95 % CI = 0.398–0.934, p = 0.023, respectively). The FAS −670 G allele was negatively associated with SLE susceptibility. Meta-analysis of the FAS −1,377 G/A polymorphism stratified by disease showed an association between the FAS −1,377 A allele and SLE (OR = 0.783, 95 % CI = 0.613–0.997, p = 0.047). Meta-analyses using the dominant model also showed a significant association in SLE (OR = 0.712, 95 % CI = 0.528–0.961, p = 0.027). This meta-analysis demonstrates that the FAS −670 A/G polymorphism confers susceptibility to rheumatic diseases in Asians and SLE and RA, and the FAS −1,377 G/A polymorphism is associated with SLE susceptibility.