Association of FCGR2A, JAK2 or HNF4A variants with ulcerative colitis in Koreans

Background Recent genome-wide association studies have identified over 40 candidate genes contributing to ulcerative colitis susceptibility. The goal of this study was to test the reported ulcerative colitis susceptibility genes including FCGR2A , SLC26A3, JAK2 and HNF4A in Korean patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Methods Five single nucleotide polymorphisms from 4 loci including FCGR2A, SLC26A3, JAK2 and HNF4A were genotyped in 661patients with ulcerative colitis, 642 patients with Crohn's disease and 601 healthy controls. Results Statistically significant associations with ulcerative colitis were found at FCGR2A (rs1801274, p = 2.3 × 10 −4 , OR = 0.70 (95% CI = 0.57–0.84) under the allelic model), the JAK2 locus (rs10975003, p = 6.7 × 10 −4 , OR = 1.43 (95% CI = 1.16–1.77) under the allelic model) and HNF4A (rs6017342, p = 0.002, OR = 0.66 (95% CI = 0.51–0.85) under the allelic model). The association of FCGR2A was much stronger in female patients with ulcerative colitis ( p = 5.7 × 10 −6 ) than in males ( p = 0.50). Except rs10975003 from the JAK2 locus, none showed positive association with Crohn's disease. Conclusions Our data suggest that FCGR2A , JAK2 or HNF4A variants play a role in the pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis in Koreans.