Significant Association Between Fc Receptor-Like 3 Polymorphisms (-1901A > G and-658C > T) and Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO) Susceptibility in the Chinese Population

Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is an autoimmune disorder. In pathogenesis, NMO-immunoglobulin G (NMO-IgG) selectively binds to aquaporin-4 (AQP4) and resulted in neuritis, myelitis, and brain lesion. Fc receptor-like 3 (FCRL3) gene encodes a member of the immunoglobulin receptor superfamily, which plays an important part in regulating immune activities. This study aimed at investigating the association between FCRL3 polymorphisms and NMO susceptibility and, hopefully, to contribute to the development of novel methods for diagnosis and treatment of NMO. We selected 150 NMO patients and 300 healthy controls from the Chinese population. Tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified with reference to CBI-dbSNP and HapMap databases. DNA were extracted and amplified. Matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) was applied to determine the polymorphisms. chi(2), odds ratio (OR), and 95 % confidence interval (95 % CI) were presented to evaluate genotype distribution and association between SNPs and NMO susceptibility. Six out of 15 SNPs were selected according to the filter. No significant altered genotype distribution was observed concerning -11G>C, -166C>T, -219G>C, and -1629C>G polymorphisms. The G allele of -1901A>G variation was demonstrated to be more frequent in patients compared with controls (P < 0.001). The T allele of -658C>T polymorphism was significantly more prevalent in NMO patients than controls (P = 0.009). In summary, the study revealed that the G allele in -1901A>G polymorphism and T allele in -658C>T polymorphism are genetic risk factors for NMO in the Chinese population. Further research is needed to account for different ethnicities and clarify the mechanisms behind, which might contribute to the elucidation of novel diagnosis methods.