Association between FCGR3B copy number variations and susceptibility to autoimmune diseases: a meta-analysis

Objective: This study determined whether FCGR3B copy number variations (CNVs) were associated with susceptibility to autoimmune diseases. Methods: A meta-analysis was conducted to determine the association between FCGR3B CNVs and susceptibility to autoimmune diseases by comparing low FCGR3B CN (<2 to ≥2) and high FCGR3B CN (>2 to ≤2). Results: In all, 28 comparative studies from 15 reports involving 12,160 patients and 11,103 controls were included in this meta-analysis. The meta-analysis showed a significant association between low FCGR3B CN and autoimmune diseases (OR = 1.496, 95 % CI = 1.301–1.716, p = 1.0 × 10⁻⁹). Subgroup analysis according to ethnicity indicated an association between low FCGR3B CN and autoimmune diseases in Caucasians (OR = 1.482, 95 % CI = 1.219–1.801, p = 7.7 × 10⁻⁶) and Asians (OR = 1.498, 95 % CI = 1.306–1.717, p = 1.0 × 10⁻⁹). Meta-analysis according to the type of autoimmune disease indicated a significant association of low FCGR3B CN with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE; OR = 1.797, 95 % CI = 1.562–2.068, p < 1.0 × 10⁻⁹), primary Sjogren’s syndrome (pSS; OR = 2.263, 95 % CI = 1.316–3.892, p = 0.003), and Wegener’s granulomatosis (WG; OR = 1.973, 95 % CI = 1.178–3.302, p = 0.010), but not with rheumatoid arthritis (RA; OR = 1.333, 95 % CI = 0.947–1.877, p = 0.099). However, the meta-analysis showed no association between high FCGR3B CN and SLE, RA, pSS, and WG. Conclusions: Thus, the results of this meta-analysis indicated that low FCGR3B CN increased susceptibility to autoimmune diseases, especially SLE, pSS, and WG.