Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic autoimmune disorder that predominantly affects women of childbearing age, with a female-to-male ratio of approximately 9:1. Previous findings indicated that male cases of SLE were associated with Klinefelter's syndrome (47, XXY), whereas females with Turner's syndrome (45, X0) did not contract SLE. Additionally, duplicated Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) was found to promote lupus-like disease. Consequently, the aim of this study was to evaluate whether the TLR7 gene served as a genetic marker for the development of SLE. A case-control study was performed on one tag single nucleotide polymorphism TLR7 rs1634323 in a population with 507 SLE patients and 513 healthy controls. Genotyping was determined by the TaqMan genotyping assay using the ABI 7300 real‑time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction system. The results showed a significantly elevated risk of SLE with the rs1634323 AG genotype in females (P=0.040, OR=1.897, 95% CI 1.031-3.491), whereas a similar association was not replicated in males (P=0.303, OR=0.338, 95% CI 0.043-2.656). In a subgroup analysis by clinical manifestation of lupus nephritis, no significant differences were found. These findings indicate that the TLR7 gene rs1634323 polymorphism may contribute to SLE susceptibility in females.

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