Associations between TNFAIP3 gene polymorphisms and systemic lupus erythematosus risk: an updated meta‐analysis

Abstract In order to determine whether tumor necrosis factor alpha inducible protein 3 ( TNFAIP3 ) gene polymorphisms confers susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus ( SLE ) in ethnically different populations. A meta‐analysis was conducted to examine the association between TNFAIP3 polymorphisms and susceptibility to SLE . A systematic literature search was conducted to identify all relevant studies. Pooled odds ratios ( ORs ) with 95% confidence intervals ( CIs ) were used to estimate the strength of the association. A total of 23 studies from 20 articles, involving 18,501 patients with SLE and 30,435 healthy controls were included in this meta‐analysis. Overall, we found significant association between SLE and the TNFAIP3 rs2230926, rs5029937, rs5029939, and rs3757173 polymorphisms (all P < 0.001). Stratification by ethnicity indicated that rs5029939 polymorphism was associated with SLE in Europeans, while rs2230926, rs5029937, and rs3757173 polymorphisms were associated with SLE both in Europeans and Asians (all P < 0.001). The results of our meta‐analysis suggest that TNFAIP3 (rs2230926, rs5029937, rs5029939, and rs3757173) polymorphisms are associated with susceptibility to SLE .