SLEAR predisposes to systemic lupus erythematosus by regulating apoptosis [ChIRP-Seq]

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease, and affects all parts of the human body. Genome-wide association studies have been employed to identify susceptibility genes of SLE. However, most of the SLE associated variants are located in the noncoding regions of the human genome.We characterized SLE risk variants in Chinese populations. One of the most significant validated SNP was located in a gene which we named SLEAR. We found SLEAR was enriched in the nucleus and could regulate apoptosis. Apoptosis is a highly regulated process. And misregulation of the process could lead to autoimmune diseases, especially SLE. Our results suggest that the SLEAR plays a key role in apoptosis regulation and is associated with SLE predisposition. ChIRP-seq in Jurkat (input, lacZ, odd and even libraries)