International Journal of General Medicine (Aug 2023)

Association Between SPARC Polymorphisms and Ankylosing Spondylitis and Its mRNA and Protein Expression in a Chinese Han Population: A Case–Control Study

  • Liu D,
  • Wang L,
  • Hu Z,
  • Ma Z,
  • Yang Q

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 16
pp. 3533 – 3542

Abstract

Read online

Dongxia Liu,1 Liya Wang,1,2 Zhongdan Hu,3 Zhenzhen Ma,1 Qingrui Yang1 1Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, 250021, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Heze Medical College, Heze, 274000, People’s Republic of China; 3Tianjin Zhonghe Clinic Co. Ltd. of Heping District, Tianjin, 300450, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Liya Wang; Zhongdan Hu, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: We explore the association of polymorphisms in Secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and detect SPARC mRNA and protein expression in a Chinese Han population.Methods: Nine single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of SPARC were genotyped in 768 AS patients and 768 controls by TaqMan genotyping assay. mRNA expression of SPARC was detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and serum level of SPARC protein was detected by ELISA.Results: The frequency of A allele of rs171121187 was significantly higher in AS patients than in controls (Pc=0.003, odds ratio [OR]=1.45, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 1.18– 1.77), the AA and AC genotypes increased the risk of AS when compared with CC genotype (Pc=0.003, OR=3.96, 95% CI=1.80– 8.75, and Pc=0.003, OR=1.27, 95% CI=1.01– 1.61, respectively). The frequency of G allele of rs4958487 was significantly lower in AS than in controls (Pc=0.001, OR=0.60, 95% CI=0.47– 0.68), the GG and GA genotypes reduced the risk of AS when compared with AA genotype (Pc=0.005, OR=0.46, 95% CI 0.18– 1.14, and Pc=0.005, OR=0.60, 95% CI=0.45– 0.79, respectively). The haplotype AA of rs17112187/rs4958487 significantly increased the risk of AS (P=2.31E-5, OR=1.60, 95% CI=1.28– 1.98), while haplotype CG decreased the risk of AS (P=5.42E-5, OR=0.55, 95% CI=0.41– 0.74). Expression levels of SPARC mRNA were significantly lower in both Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and granulocytes in AS patients than in controls (P=0.008 and P=0.005, respectively). SPARC protein levels were also reduced in AS patients versus the controls (P= 0.002).Conclusion: This study indicates that polymorphisms in SPARC are associated with AS susceptibility, and both mRNA and protein levels of SPARC are decreased in AS patients in a Chinese Han population.Keywords: secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine, SPARC, ankylosing spondylitis, single nucleotide polymorphism, SNP, case–control study

Keywords