Original Article

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Androgen receptor genetic variants in male patients with ankylosing spondylitis in Taiwan

  1. Shan-Fu Yu1,
  2. Yi-Hsiang Hsu2,3,
  3. Tien-Tsai Cheng1,
  4. Han-Ming Lai1,
  5. Chung-Jen Chen1,
  6. Hong-Yo Kang4,*

Article first published online: 20 OCT 2012

DOI: 10.1111/1756-185X.12011

Issue

International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases

International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases

Volume 16, Issue 1, pages 81–87, February 2013

Additional Information

How to Cite

Yu, S.-F., Hsu, Y.-H., Cheng, T.-T., Lai, H.-M., Chen, C.-J. and Kang, H.-Y. (2013), Androgen receptor genetic variants in male patients with ankylosing spondylitis in Taiwan. International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases, 16: 81–87. doi: 10.1111/1756-185X.12011

Author Information

  1. 1

    Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang-Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

  2. 2

    Program for Population Genetics, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

  3. 3

    Hebrew Senior Life Institute for Aging Research and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

  4. 4

    Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Sciences and Center for Menopause and Reproductive Research, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

* Correspondence: Professor Hong-Yo Kang, Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Sciences and Center for Menopause and Reproductive Research, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Email: hkang3@mail.cgu.edu.tw

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 27 FEB 2013
  2. Article first published online: 20 OCT 2012

Funded by

  • Chang Gung Memorial Hospital
  • NSC Research. Grant Numbers: NMRPD15078, National Science Council

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Keywords:

  • androgen receptor;
  • ankylosing spondylitis;
  • Taiwan;
  • tri-nucleotide repeat polymorphism

Abstract

Aim

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic rheumatic disorder with gender differences. The aim of study was to investigate the association between polymorphisms of the androgen receptor (AR) gene and the susceptibility to AS in Taiwanese men of Han Chinese descent.

Methods

We conducted a case-control study with 92 male AS patients and 108 healthy controls. Trinucleotide (CAG and GGC) repeats and seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs962458, rs6152, rs1204038, rs5918757, rs2361634, rs6624304 and rs1337080 in the AR gene were genotyped.

Results

We found that only one patient had polymorphic SNPs of the AR gene. None of the genotyped SNPs in the AR gene, originally found in Caucasians, was polymorphic in the Taiwanese men. Neither CAG nor GGC repeat lengths in the AR gene had a significant relationship with human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B27 positivity or disease severity in AS.

Conclusion

There were no differences in CAG and GGC lengths in the AR gene between AS and the controls. None of the genotyped SNPs in AR gene are detected to be polymorphic in male Taiwanese, which indicates that the effect of AR gene on AS may be ethnic-specific and may be conserved in East Asians compared to Caucasian populations. Still, additional studies using large sets of subjects deserve further attention, since our sample size was small with limited statistical power and supporting evidence for association between the AR gene and AS risk in the Japanese population exists.

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