ATICmissense variant affects response to methotrexate treatment in rheumatoid arthritis patients

Aim:The study was aimed at investigation of several gene variants of folate pathway enzymes for their potential association with methotrexate (MTX) treatment response in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Patients & methods:Four hundred and twenty two Caucasian patients were classified as good or poor responders, and subsequently genotyped for common SNPs in DHFR, FPGSand ATICgenes. Results:No significant differences were observed in case of DHFRand FGPSSNPs. As for ATICrs2372536 (Thr116Ser), GG minor genotype was significantly associated with good response to MTX (OR: 2.40; 95 CI: 1.30–4.42; p 0.005), which was confirmed by multivariate analysis. Conclusion: The results of the study suggest that ATICmissense rs2372536 SNP may influence response to MTX therapy in rheumatoid arthritis patients.