Association of rs10954213 Polymorphisms and Haplotype Diversity in Interferon Regulatory Factor 5 with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Meta-analysis

The rs10954213 polymorphism and the haplotype diversity in interferon regulatory factor 5 （1RF5） play a special role in systemic lupus erythematosus （SLE） but with inconclusive results. We conducted a meta-analysis integrating case-control and haplotype variant studies in multiple ethnic populations to clearly discern the effect of these two variants on SLE. Eleven studies on the relation between rs10954213 polymorpisms in IRF5 and SLE were included and we selected a random effect model to calculate the pooled odds ratios （ORs） and the corresponding 95% confidence interval （95% CI）. A total of 6982 cases and 8077 controls were involved in the meta-analysis. The pooled results in- dicated that A allele was significantly associated with increased risk of SLE as compared with the IRF5 rS10954213 G allele （A vs. G, P〈0.00001） in all subjects. The same pattern of the results was also ob- tained in the European, African American, and Latin American. Asian population had a much lower prevalence of the A allele （49.1%） than any other population studied, and Europeans had the highest frequency of the IRF5 rs10954213 A allele （62.1%）. The significant association of increased SLE risk and TCA haplotype was indicated in the contrast of TCA vs. TTA as the pooled OR was 2.14 （P=0.002）. The same result was also found in the contrast of TCA vs. TTG as the pooled OR was 1.45 （P=-0.004）. This meta-analysis suggests that the A allele of rs10954213 and TCA haplotype （rs2004640-rs2070197-rs10954213） in IRF5 is associated with the increased risk of SLE in different ethnic groups, and its prevalence is ethnicity dependent.

Interferon Regulatory Factor 5 and Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System Polymorphisms in Coronary Artery Disease: An Overview of Experimental and Clinical Studies

Heart diseases are the main cause of mortality in Mexico, being coronary heart disease the most frequent in the country. Its high prevalence makes important the study of the pathophysiology and the search for prognostic factors. Different genes and polymorphisms promote atherogenesis and coronary artery disease, they affect inflammatory and vascular pathological processes. Interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) is associated with coronary heart disease, it promotes chronic inflammation and cytokines release;it could trigger immune reactions and its activating receptors express in the vascular endothelium. Besides, polymorphisms in the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) are implied with coronary disease, they are found in angiotensinogen (AGT), angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R), angiotensin II type 2 receptor (AT2R), and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) genes. These genetic polymorphisms are associated with a prothrombotic state, endothelial dysfunction, and immune activation. Multiple experimental studies showed that chronic activation of RAAS and chronic expression of IRF5 generates an environment prone to the development of atherosclerosis, and autoimmune and cardiovascular diseases. Studying these specific genes and their relationship with coronary heart disease will allow a better understanding of the pathological process and possibly the quest for new treatments.

Variants of Interferon Regulatory Factor 5 are Associated with Neither Neuromyelitis Optica Nor Multiple Sclerosis in the Southeastern Han Chinese Population

Background： Neuromyelitis optica （NMO） and multiple sclerosis （MS） are demyelinating disorders of the central nervous system. Interferon regulatory factor 5 （IRF5） is a common susceptibility gene to different autoimmune disorders. However, the association of IRF5 variants with NMO and MS patients has not been well studied. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate whether IRF5 variants were associated with NMO and MS in the Southeastenl Han Chinese population. Methods： Four single nucleotide polymorphisnls （SNPs） were selected and genotyped by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry in 111 NMO patients, 145 MS patients and 300 controls from Southeastern China. Results： None of these 4 SNPs was associated with NMO or MS patients. Conclusions： Our preliminary study indicates that genetic variants in IRI~ may affect neither NMO nor MS in the Southeastern Han Chinese population. Further studies with a large sample size and diverse ancestry populations are needed to clarify this isstie.

IRF5 regulates lung macrophages M2 polarization during severe acute pancreatitis in vitro

AIM To investigate the role of interferon regulatory factor 5(IRF5) in reversing polarization of lung macrophages during severe acute pancreatitis(SAP) in vitro.METHODS A mouse SAP model was established by intraperitoneal(ip) injections of 20 μg/kg body weight caerulein. Pathological changes in the lung were observed by hematoxylin and eosin staining. Lung macrophages were isolated from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. The quantity and purity of lung macrophages were detectedby fluorescence-activated cell sorting and evaluated by real-time polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR). They were treated with IL-4/IRF5 specific siR NA(IRF5 siR NA) to reverse their polarization and were evaluated by detecting markers expression of M1/M2 using RTPCR.RESULTS SAP associated acute lung injury(ALI) was induced successfully by ip injections of caerulein, which was confirmed by histopathology. Lung macrophages expressed high levels of IRF5 as M1 phenotype during the early acute pancreatitis stages. Reduction of IRF5 expression by IRF5 siR NA reversed the action of macrophages from M1 to M2 phenotype in vitro. The expressions of M1 markers, including IRF5(S + IRF5 siR NA vs S + PBS, 0.013 ± 0.01 vs 0.054 ± 0.047, P < 0.01), TNF-α(S + IRF5 siR NA vs S + PBS, 0.0003 ± 0.0002 vs 0.019 ± 0.018, P < 0.001), iN OS(S + IRF5 siR NA vs S + PBS, 0.0003 ± 0.0002 vs 0.026 ± 0.018, P < 0.001) and IL-12(S + IRF5 si RNA vs S + PBS, 0.000005 ± 0.00004 vs 0.024 ± 0.016, P < 0.001), were decreased. In contrast, the expressions of M2 markers, including IL-10(S + IRF5 siR NA vs S + PBS, 0.060 ± 0.055 vs 0.0230 ± 0.018, P < 0.01) and Arg-1(S + IRF5 siR NA vs S + PBS, 0.910 ± 0.788 vs 0.0036 ± 0.0025, P < 0.001), were increased. IRF5 si RNA could reverse the lung macrophage polarization more effectively than IL-4.CONCLUSION Treatment with IRF5 siR NA can reverse the pancreatitisinduced activation of lung macrophages from M1 phenotype to M2 phenotype in SAP associated with ALI.

Toll-like receptor 9 is correlated to disease activity in Chinese systemic lupus erythematosus population

Methods mRNA level of TLR9 and interferon （IFN） regulatory factor 5 （IRF5） in peripheral blood mononuclear cells （PBMCs） were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction （PCR）. IFN-a expression was measured in the serum of the SLE patients by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. Results TLR9 expression was significantly higher in SLE patients than that in health controls （P=0.011）. SLE patients with positive anti-dsDNA antibody had significantly higher expression of TLR9 than that with negative anti-dsDNA antibody （P=0.001）. TLR9 expression was positively correlated with fever （P=0.017）, alopecia （P=0.046）, safety of estrogens in lupus erythematosus national assessment SLE disease activity index （SELENA-SLEDAI） score （rs=0.385, P=0.003）, and the level of IRF5 （rs=0.35, P=0.027） and IFN-a （rs=0.627, P=0.001） in SLE patients. Conclusion TLR9 is associated with SLE disease activity and might be involved in the IFN-a pathway of SLE.