The genetic effect of the ICAM1 (intercellular adhesion molecule 1) rs5498 polymorphism on the susceptibility towards multiple sclerosis

In the present study, we included currently published evidence to comprehensively evaluate the influence of the rs5498 polymorphism within the ICAM1 (intercellular adhesion molecule 1) gene on the genetic risk of multiple sclerosis. STATA 12.0 software was utilized to carry out the heterogeneity assessment, association test, and Begg's test as well as the Egger's tests and sensitivity analyses. A total of 11 high-quality case-control studies were selected from the initially retrieved 2209 articles. The lack of high heterogeneity led to the use of a fixed-effect model in all genetic models. The results of the association test showed a reduced risk of multiple sclerosis in the allelic G vs A (P_association = 0.036, OR = 0.91) and dominant AG+GG vs AA (P_association = 0.042, OR = 0.85) but not in other genetic models (all P_association > 0.05). In addition, the negative results were observed in further subgroup analyses based on ethnicity or Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in all genetic models. Data from Begg's and Egger's tests further excluded the presence of remarkable publication bias, while sensitivity analysis data supported stable outcomes. Thus, we conclude that ICAM1 rs5498 may not be related to the risk of multiple sclerosis in Caucasian or Asian populations, which still merits further research.