A New Risk Polymorphism rs10403848 of CARD8 Significantly Associated with Psoriasis Vulgaris in Northeastern China

Caspase recruitment domain family member 8 (CARD8) is an adaptor molecule that negatively regulates nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation, interleukin (IL)-1β secretion, and apoptosis. These play important roles in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Genetic variants of CARD8 have been associated with an increased risk of several inflammatory diseases and psoriasis in Europe. However, nothing is known about the association of the polymorphisms of CARD8 and psoriasis vulgaris (PsV) in the Han population of northeastern China. To investigate the potential association between them, we designed a case-control study to genotype four selected single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) using the improved multiplex ligation reaction (iMLDR) method. Model-based single SNP frequentist-test and haplotype association studies were performed to assess the association between SNPs and PsV. The results showed that the intron SNP rs10403848 was significantly associated with PsV (additive model p=0.0418, p′=0.0411, and statistical power 0.1902; heterozygous model p=0.0418, p′=0.0164, and statistical power 0.9406). A potential risk locus of nonsynonymous SNP rs2043211 found in the European population did not show a significant association in our study. We found that the polymorphism rs10403848 in CARD8 is significantly associated with PsV risk in the Han population of northeastern China. CARD8 may be involved in PsV in this population, as in the European population, but a different genetic process should be considered for the heterogeneity of risk loci.