Objective Spondyloarthritis is a group of articular disorders sharing a genetic background. Polymorphisms in the IL-1 gene cluster have previously been associated with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), a subset of spondyloarthritis. This study examined the association between several of these polymorphisms and the whole spondyloarthritis. Particular attention was devoted to genotype–phenotype correlations.

Methods Seven single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) and a variable number tandem repeat located in the IL-1 gene cluster were genotyped in 185 independent spondyloarthritis trios. Family-based association test (FBAT) was computed using the FBAT software. Analysis was carried in spondyloarthritis as a whole and also in AS. A case–control replication study was performed for four of the SNP, in an independent sample of 414 spondyloarthritis and 264 controls. A combined analysis of both studies was performed.

Results The SNP rs2856836 in IL1A was significantly associated with spondyloarthritis (p=0.009) and AS (p=0.010) in the family study. The case–control study revealed an association between another IL1A variant (rs1894399) and AS (p=0.035), and between IL1F10.3 (rs3811058) and spondyloarthritis (p=0.041). By combining family and case–control studies an association between AS and IL1A was confirmed (rs1894399, p=0.024), whereas non-AS was more significantly associated with IL1F10.3 (p=0.0043). Family-based and case–control studies revealed significant association between the two most frequent haplotypes combining the four SNP of the replication study and both spondyloarthritis (p=0.0054 and p=0.038) and AS phenotypes (p=0.018 and 0.0036).

Conclusion This study is the first to demonstrate an association between several polymorphisms located in the IL-1 gene cluster and spondyloarthritis as a whole. The IL1A locus was strongly associated with AS phenotype, whereas IL1F10 was associated with non-AS.