Since the mid 1980s, the prevalence of liver abscess caused by hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae strain has increased in Asia, particularly in Taiwan and Korea. This strain is mostly K1 or K2 serotype, and has hypercapsular and hypermucoid phenotypes. Most infections are community acquired, and patients rarely have a hepatobiliary disease prior to infection. Clinical manifestations are characterized by fever and high C-reactive protein, and metastatic infections, such as septic emboli in the lung and endophthalmitis and meningitis are frequently observed. Antibiotic resistance is rare. Antibiotic treatment and abscess drainage are needed, and early diagnosis and treatment of endophthalmitis is also important.
Objective A highly polygenic etiology and high degree of allele-sharing between ancestries have been well-elucidated in genetic studies of rheumatoid arthritis. Recently, the high-density genotyping array Immunochip for immune disease loci identified 14 new rheumatoid arthritis risk loci among individuals of European ancestry. Here, we aimed to identify new rheumatoid arthritis risk loci using Korean-specific Immunochip data. Methods We analyzed Korean rheumatoid arthritis case-control samples using the Immunochip and GWAS array to search for new risk alleles of rheumatoid arthritis with anti-citrullinated peptide antibodies. To increase power, we performed a meta-analysis of Korean data with previously published European Immunochip and GWAS data, for a total sample size of 9,299 Korean and 45,790 European case-control samples. Results We identified 8 new rheumatoid arthritis susceptibility loci (TNFSF4, LBH, EOMES, ETS1–FLI1, COG6, RAD51B, UBASH3A and SYNGR1) that passed a genome-wide significance threshold (p<5×10−8), with evidence for three independent risk alleles at 1q25/TNFSF4. The risk alleles from the 7 new loci except for the TNFSF4 locus (monomorphic in Koreans), together with risk alleles from previously established RA risk loci, exhibited a high correlation of effect sizes between ancestries. Further, we refined the number of SNPs that represent potentially causal variants through a trans-ethnic comparison of densely genotyped SNPs. Conclusion This study demonstrates the advantage of dense-mapping and trans-ancestral analysis for identification of potentially causal SNPs. In addition, our findings support the importance of T cells in the pathogenesis and the fact of frequent overlap of risk loci among diverse autoimmune diseases.
To identify the prevalence of interstitial lung disease (ILD) in Korean patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and assess its effect on mortality. A total of 3555 patients with RA, with chest X-ray or chest computed tomography (CT) data at enrollment were extracted from the KORean Observational study Network for Arthritis cohort, a nationwide prospective cohort for patients with RA in Korea. The patients were classified into two groups: (1) an ILD group by chest X-ray or chest CT scan, and (2) a non-ILD group by these modalities. After comparing the characteristics of the groups at enrollment, mortalities were compared using the log-rank test. To explore the impact of ILD on mortality, Cox proportional hazard models were used. Sixty-four patients (1.8%) were identified with ILD. Male and older patients were more common in the ILD group. During a mean follow-up of 24 months, 6 patients (9.4%) in the ILD group and 25 patients (0.7%) in the non-ILD group died; the survival rate was significantly worse in the ILD group (p < 0.01). On adjusted analysis, ILD was significantly associated with increased mortality (HR 7.89, CI 3.16-19.69, p < 0.01); the risk of death in patients with ILD was even higher than in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD, HR 4.10, CI 1.79-9.37, p < 0.01). The prevalence of ILD was 1.8% in Korean patients with RA. ILD is a major risk factor for mortality in patients with RA.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.