Association Between Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms in the SEC8L1 Gene, Which Encodes a Subunit of the Exocyst Complex, and Rheumatoid Arthritis in a Japanese Population

Objective. To identify rheumatoid arthritis (RA) susceptibility genes in a Japanese population by conducting a large-scale case–control association analysis and linkage disequilibrium (LD) mapping on chromosome 7q31–34, a candidate susceptibility locus identified in a preliminary genome-wide scan in 53 Japanese families, using single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).