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Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is known as a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disorder, which is characterized mainly by the progressive inflammation and destruction of the joints. In the pathogenesis of RA, a variety of cell types such as lymphocyte, dendritic cells, osteoclasts and synovial fibroblasts are involved. Genetic proneness has been implicated in the pathogenesis of RA. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in DPP4 and CDK5RAP2 genes and risk of RA in Iranian population.

Methods: For genotyping, 623 RA patients and 412 healthy subjects were recruited. Genetic analysis of DPP4 gene rs12617656 and CDK5RAP2 gene rs12379034 polymorphisms was conducted using TaqMan allelic discrimination (for rs12617656) and ARMS-PCR (for rs12379034) methods.

Results: Experiments demonstrated that alleles and genotypes of both SNPs were represented equally in RA patients and controls. Statistical analysis revealed that none of the rs12617656 and rs12379034 SNPs had significant differences in prevalence of both alleles and genotypes between RA patients and healthy controls.

Conclusions: It appears that gene polymorphisms of DPP4 and CDK5RAP2 are not involved in the pathogenesis of RA in Iranian population.