Effect of disulfidptosis-related genes SLC3A2, SLC7A11 and FLNB polymorphisms on risk of autoimmune thyroiditis in a Chinese population

This study aimed to evaluate the associations between disulfidptosis related genes-SLC3A2, SLC7A11 and FLNB polymorphisms and risk of autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT). Six SNPs in the SLC3A2, SLC7A11 and FLNB were genotyped in 650 AIT cases and 650 controls using a MassARRAY platform. Minor alleles of SLC3A2-rs12794763, rs1059292 and FLNB-rs839240 might lead to a higher risk of AIT (p < 0.001), while SLC7A11-rs969319-C allele tends to decrease the risk of the disease (p = 0.006). Genetic model analysis showed that SLC3A2-rs12794763, SLC3A2-rs1059292 and FLNB-rs839240 polymorphisms were risk factors for AIT (p < 0.001); while SLC7A11-rs969319 showed a protective role for the disease in all genetic models (p < 0.005). Stratification analysis showed that SLC3A2-rs1059292 and rs12794763 were correlated with higher risk of AIT regardless of sex (p < 0.05). Moreover, FLNB-rs839240 exhibited higher risk of disease only in females (p < 0.05). By contrast, SLC7A11-rs969319 showed a protective role only in females (p < 0.05). Our results shed new light on the association between disulfidptosis-related genes and AIT risk.