Codon 72 Polymorphism of p53 Gene and Hematologic Manifestations in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus is a systemic autoimmune disorder with unclear etiology. The importance of some genes in the development of systemic lupus erythematosus has been implicated. The gene polymorphism in codon 72 has attracted a lot of attention and its role in the occurrence or progression of many cancers and autoimmune diseases especially systemic lupus erythematosus has been studied. In the present study we evaluated the polymorphism of codon 72 in p53 gene among patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Patients and Methods: Expression of p53 gene was determined in lysed lymphocytes from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus who were admitted to Namazi Hospital, Shiraz, Iran, as well as 30 healthy individuals as the control group. The patients’ information, including the epidemiological profile, disease history, disease symptoms and also the laboratory findings were extracted from the hospital records. RESULTS: Among 77 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, 9 (11.8%) were male and 68 (88.2%) were female. There was a significant relationship between the different allele types of p53 and systemic lupus erythematosus (p=0.033). The frequencies of Arg/Arg, Pro/Pro and Arg/Pro among normal controls were 38.8%, 28.8% and 37.5%, respectively, but among the patients, Arg/Arg, Pro/Pro and Arg/Pro genotypes frequencies were found to be 29.2%, 12.3% and 58.5%, respectively. Thus, heterozygous form of this polymorphism was shown to be associated with the disease more than the homozygous forms. There was no association between the different allele types and any of the initial manifestations of the disease and the laboratory findings. Conclusions: The functional oncoprotein p53 with codon 72 polymorphism may play an important role in the pathogenesis and activity of systemic lupus erythematosus. Key words: p53, systemic lupus erythematosus, polymorphism, disease activity.