association of gene polymorphisms in cxc chemokine receptor 5 with rheumatoid arthritis susceptibility

Rheumatoid arthritis (ra) is caused by complicated interactions between genes and the environment. cxc chemokine receptor 5 (cxcr5) is required for b and t follicular helper cell migration and humoral immunity generation. therefore, this study aimed to assess whether polymorphisms of the cxcr5 gene are implicated in ra development and progression.this case-control study enrolled 285 ra patients and 291 healthy controls. the polymerase chain reaction-ligase detection reaction method was used to genotype rs630923, rs497916, rs3922, and rs676925 in the cxcr5 gene. epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory data were collected retrospectively.the rs630923 a allele was associated with a higher risk of ra (aor [adjusted odds ratio]=2.00, 95% confidence interval [ci] =1.14–3.53). however, in the ra group, the frequency of the rs497916 t allele was lower (aor=0.69, 95% ci=0.51–0.93). regarding rs3922, ag+gg genotype carriers were at a significantly lower risk for ra than aa genotype carriers (aor=0.70, 95% ci=0.49–0.99). in the ra group, we found that the different genotypes were significantly associated with specific laboratory values, including rheumatoid factor, total bilirubin, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and alkaline phosphatase.this is the first report indicating that cxcr5 polymorphisms were associated with ra susceptibility. these findings lead to a rising possibility of identifying ra-susceptible individuals based on genetic markers.