Correlation of TSHR and CTLA-4 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms with Graves Disease

Abstract

This study was designed to explore the association between Graves disease (GD) and thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We studied a total of 1217 subjects from a Han population in northern Anhui province in China. Six SNPs within TSHR (rs179247, rs12101261, rs2284722, rs4903964, rs2300525, and rs17111394) and four SNPs within CTLA-4 (rs10197319, rs231726, rs231804, and rs1024161) were genotyped via a Taqman probe technique using a Fluidigm EP1 platform. The TSHR alleles rs179247-G, rs12101261-C, and rs4903964-G were negatively correlated with GD, whereas the rs2284722-A and rs17111394-C alleles were positively correlated with GD. Analyzing TSHR SNPs at rs179247, rs2284722, rs12101261, and rs4903964 yielded 8 different haplotypes. There were positive correlations between GD risk and the haplotypes AGTA and AATA (OR=1.27, 95%CI=1.07‐1.50, P=0.005; OR=1.45, 95%CI=1.21‐1.75, P<0.001, respectively). There were negative correlations between GD risk and the haplotype GGCG (OR=0.56, 95%CI=0.46‐0.67, P<0.001). With respect to haplotypes based on SNPs at the TSHR rs2300525 and rs17111394 loci, the CC haplotype was positively correlated with GD risk (OR=1.32, 95%CI=1.08‐1.60, P=0.006). Analyzing CTLA-4 SNPs at rs231804, rs1024161, and rs231726 yielded four haplotypes, of which AAA was positively correlated with GD risk (OR=1.21, 95%CI=1.02‐1.43, P=0.029). Polymorphisms at rs179247, rs12101261, rs2284722, rs4903964, and rs17111394 were associated with GD susceptibility. Haplotypes of both TSHR and CTLA-4 were additionally related to GD risk.