Association analysis suggests SOD2 as a new leprosy susceptibility candidate gene.

Genetic studies have identified several genes and genomic regions contributing to the control of host susceptibility to leprosy. Here, we test variants of the positional and functional candidate gene SOD2 for association with leprosy in two independent population samples. Family-based analysis revealed association between leprosy and allele G of marker rs295340 (P=0.042), and borderline evidence of association between leprosy and alleles C and A of markers rs4880 (P=0.077) and rs5746136 (P=0.071), respectively. Findings were validated in an independent case-control sample for markers rs295340 (P=0.049) and rs4880 (P=0.038). These results suggest SOD2 as a new leprosy susceptibility gene.