Impact of TNF-α and LTα gene polymorphisms on genetic susceptibility in Indian SLE patients.

The promoter polymorphisms of tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and intronic Lymphotoxin-α (LTα) have been implicated as genetic risk factors for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in various ethnic groups. The aim of this study was to investigate an impact of TNF-α (-308G/A; 238G/A) and LTα (+252A/G) gene polymorphisms in disease susceptibility among Indian 200 SLE patients along with 201 healthy controls. The gene polymorphisms were studied by using direct DNA sequencing and Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) methods.

Anti-nucleosome antibodies as a disease marker in systemic lupus erythematosus and its correlation with disease activity and other autoantibodies.

Background: Detection of anti-nucleosome antibodies (anti-nuc) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has been well established and it is claimed that their presence is associated with disease activity.

Aims: The aim of this study is to evaluate the incidence of anti-nuc antibodies and to correlate them with disease activity and its association with other autoantibodies like anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA), anti-double stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA), anti-histone antibodies (AHA), as well as autoantibodies to histone subfractions like H1, (H2A-H4) complex, H2B, and H3.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 100 SLE patients referred from the Rheumatology, Dermatology, and Nephrology Departments.