http://www.sage-hindawi.comThe latest articles from SAGE-Hindawi Access to Research© 2010, SAGE-Hindawi Access to Research. All rights reserved.http://www.sage-hindawi.com/journals/ad/2010/470695.htmlTo identify Fc γ RIIA genotypes in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) patients and their association with anti-C1q antibodies. Methods. Fc γ RIIA genotyping was done in eighty Indian SLE patients and eighty healthy controls using allele-specific PCR. Anti-C1q antibodies were measured by ELISA. Results. LN patients showed higher SLEDAI (6–32) as compared to SLE patients without renal manifestations and had SLEDAI between 6–23. Fc γ RIIA polymorphic frequency in SLE patients was R131/H131 (67.5%), R131/R131 (20%) and H131/ H131 (12.5%) as against that of normal population (62.5%, 10%, and 27.5%), respectively. Sixty two patients (77.5%) showed positivity for anti-C1q antibodies. LN patients showed elevated levels of anti-C1q antibodies (258.2 u/ml±38.5 U/mL) as compared to SLE patients without nephritis (134.6±24.6 U/mL). Among anti-C1q positive patients, 71% had R131/H131 genotype, 22.6% had R131/R131 and remaining 6.4%, patients had H131/H131 genotype. All anti-C1q positive patients with R131/R131 genotype had elevated levels of anti-C1q antibodies (>100 U/ml), whereas among anti-C1q negative patients, none had R131/R131 genotype. Conclusion. This first report on Indian SLE patients supports the hypothesis that Fc γ RIIA R131 variant over expression may constitute a susceptibility factor for development of severe SLE manifestations in LN patients.Vandana Pradhan, Manisha Patwardhan, Anita Nadkarni, and Kanjaksha Ghosh© 2010, SAGE-Hindawi Access to Research. All rights reserved.http://www.sage-hindawi.com/journals/ad/2010/285974.htmlControversial observations have been published on the association of the cytotoxic T lymphocyte associated antigen gene's variants with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). After genotyping 428 patients and 230 matched controls, the prevalence of the CT60∗G allele was more frequent in RF- and/or anti-CCP-seropositive RApatients, compared to the healthy controls (P<.001). Regression analysis revealed that the CT60∗G allele is a possible predisposing factor for RA in these subgroups. No accumulation of the +49∗G allele was found among patients, and this variant was not found to correlate with RA. Assaying the possible genotype variations, the +49∗G-CT60∗G allelic combination was accumulated in seropositive RA-subtypes, and was associated with the risk of RA (OR=1.73, P=.001 for the whole RA-population). Although the +49∗G allele did not mean a predisposition to RA alone, in combination with CT60∗G it, also conferred risk, suggesting that the +49A/G variant is associated with the risk of RA only in certain haplotypes.Bernadett Farago, Peter Kisfali, Lili Magyari, Noemi Polgar, and Bela Melegh© 2010, SAGE-Hindawi Access to Research. All rights reserved.