Associations of vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms FokI and BsmI with susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis and Behçet's disease in Tunisians.

Objectives: Reports of immunomodulating effects of vitamin D suggest a need for examining allele and genotype frequencies of the vitamin D nuclear receptor gene (VDR) in patients with autoimmune diseases. T-helper-1 (Th1) counts in peripheral blood are increased in both rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and Behçet's disease (BD). We studied VDR polymorphisms in patients with these two diseases in Tunisia.

Vitamin D modulates peripheral immunity in patients with Behçet's disease.

Background And Objectives: There is little knowledge about clinical and immunological variables associated with vitamin D insufficiency in inflammatory diseases. We sought to investigate disease variables associated with vitamin D levels in patients with Behçet's disease (BD) and its interaction with inflammatory responses.

Methods: One hundred and sixty BD patients (102 patients in active stage) were enrolled in a study assessing the relationship between serum vitamin D concentrations and disease activity.

Association of small ubiquitin-like modifier 4 (SUMO4) polymorphisms in a Tunisian population with Behçet's disease.

Objectives: An association of SUMO4 gene, which has recently been shown to be a negative feedback regulator for nuclear factor NF-κB, has been reported in several autoimmune/inflammatory diseases. A case-control study was set up to investigate the contribution of SUMO4 locus to the genetic susceptibility to Behçet's disease (BD).

Methods: One hundred and thirty-five Tunisian BD patients and 167 healthy blood donors from the same geographical area were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction for the SUMO4 polymorphisms.