The results of a GWAS of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in Han Chinese individuals that included 4,556 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have revealed a new SLE risk locus (rs13259960) in a lncRNA termed SLE-associated RNA (SLEAR). The new risk variant causes a reduction in the amount of SLEAR that is produced in an individual. In vitro analyses suggest that SLEAR regulates apoptosis, a process associated with the pathogenesis of SLE. Furthermore, patients with SLE with the rs13259960 variant had a reduced amount of SLEAR, which correlated with an increase in T cell apoptosis.
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Fan, Z. et al. The polymorphism rs13259960 in SLEAR predisposes to systemic lupus erythematosus. Arthritis Rheumatol. https://doi.org/10.1002/art.41200 (2020)
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Clarke, J. Risk variant in long noncoding RNA linked to SLE. Nat Rev Rheumatol 16, 126 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41584-020-0382-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41584-020-0382-8
