Analysis of JAK2 and STAT3 polymorphisms in patients with ankylosing spondylitis in Chinese Han population

JAK2 and STAT3 polymorphisms have been implicated to be associated with inflammatory bowel disease, which might share common immunogenesis and genetic factors with AS. Here, we have investigated the possible relationship of JAK2 and STAT3 polymorphisms with AS in a Chinese Han population. We genotyped 200 AS patients and 200 healthy controls for 4 polymorphisms in JAK2 and 6 in STAT3 using the chip-based matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. There was no difference in the distribution of allele and genotype in either JAK2 or STAT3 between AS groups and controls. Haplotype analysis revealed an association of haplotype rs1536798/rs10119004/rs7857730-CGT in JAK2 locus with AS. In conclusion, we first demonstrated the association of JAK2 polymorphisms with the susceptibility of AS, which indicated that IL-23 pathway also was an important etiological factor in AS in Chinese population.