| Summary: | Abstract Background Currently published studies investigating association between the killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) gene polymorphisms and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) reported inconsistent and contradictory results. Hence, we aim to carry out this comprehensive meta-analysis of all eligible studies meeting the inclusion criteria to achieve precise and comprehensive relationships between genetic variations in KIR gene cluster and risk of RA. Methods Databases of Medline/PubMed and Scopus were searched to investigate case-control studies prior to May 2018. The associations between KIR gene polymorphisms and RA susceptibility were analyzed by computing the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) for each study. Results A total of 11 comparative case-control studies involving 1847 RA patients and 2409 healthy individuals were included in this meta-analysis. Four significant associations of 2DL3 (OR = 0.591, 95% CI = 0.351–0.994; P = 0.047), 2DL5 (OR = 0.716, 95% CI = 0.601–0.853; P < 0.001), 2DS5 (OR = 0.623, 95% CI = 0.393–0.988; P = 0.045), and 3DL3 (OR = 0.324, 95% CI = 0.129–0.814; P = 0.016) genes with decreased RA risk were discovered in this meta-analysis. Although, other KIR receptors including 2DL1, 2DL2, 2DL4, 3DL1, 3DL2, 3DS1, 2DS1-2DS4, and two pseudo gens of 2DP1 and 3DP1 displayed no significant association with predisposition to RA. Conclusions These findings provide reliable evidence that 2DL3, 2DL5, 3DL3, and 2DS5 might have a potential protective role for RA.
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