OBJECTIVES

The Fcrl3 -169T>C (rs7528684) polymorphism has been shown to be a risk factor of various autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE); however, these results are inconsistent between distinct ethnicities.

METHODS

Using PCR-RFLP we studied the distribution of the FCRL3 -169T>C polymorphism in SLE patients (n = 263) and controls (n = 528) in a sample from the Polish population.

RESULTS

We found no significant differences of FCRL3 -169T>C genotypes and alleles between patients with SLE and healthy individuals. However, in the dominant model we found a significant association between the FCRL3 -169T>C polymorphism and the presence of anti-Scl-70 antibody (Ab) [OR = 4.747 (95 % CI = 1.639-13.749), p = 0.0011, p corr = 0.0198]. Moreover, in the dominant model we observed a significant contribution of FCRL3 -169T>C to the presence of either anti-La or anti-Scl-70 Abs [OR = 4.378 (95 % CI = 1.793-10.690, p = 0.0003, p corr = 0.0054)].

CONCLUSIONS

Our study demonstrated that the FCRL3 -169T>C polymorphism is not a risk factor of SLE in the Polish population, but this polymorphism may contribute to autoantibody production in this disease.