Analysis of the association between CD40 and CD40 ligand polymorphisms and systemic sclerosis

In total, 2,670 SSc patients and 3,245 healthy individuals from four European populations (Spain, Germany, The Netherlands, and Italy) were included in the study. Five single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of CD40 (rs1883832, rs4810485, rs1535045) and CD40LG (rs3092952, rs3092920) were genotyped by using a predesigned TaqMan allele-discrimination assay technology. Meta-analysis was assessed to determine whether an association exists between the genetic variants and SSc or its main clinical subtypes.No evidence of association between CD40 and CD40LG genes variants and susceptibility to SSc was observed. Similarly, no significant statistical differences were observed when SSc patients were stratified by the clinical subtypes, the serologic features, and pulmonary fibrosis.Our results do not suggest an important role of CD40 and CD40LG gene polymorphisms in the susceptibility to or clinical expression of SSc.Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease of the connective tissue characterized by excessive fibrosis of the dermis and vascular damage. It also affects internal organs, such as the lung, gastrointestinal, and vascular systems [1]. SSc is a complex polygenic disease in which environmental and genetic factors are involved in the susceptibility to this disease. Candidate gene and genome-wide association studies (GWASs) performed in SSc have identified new loci implicated in the susceptibility to SSc [2]. Nevertheless, the complete genetic components of SSc remain unknown.CD40 is a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily (TNFR), and it is expressed on the surface of several immune and nonhematopoietic cells, such as B cells, macrophages, dendritic cells, fibroblasts, and endothelial cells in certain pathogenic conditions [3]. Its ligand, CD40LG (CD154), is expressed mainly on the surface of CD4+ T cells. CD40-CD40LG interactions are necessary for the activation of both humoral and cellular immune responses [3]. The CD40-CD40LG pathway has be