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Aim : Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic vasculitic disorder, with multiple genes involved in the disease pathogenesis. The p53 gene plays an important role in controlling the cell cycle. We aimed to study the prevalence of p53 polymorphism in SLE patients and analyze the relationship between the p53 polymorphism and clinical-laboratory features of the disease. Material and methods : This case-control study was conducted on patients with confirmed SLE at Namazi Hospital, Shiraz, Iran. Seventy-seven patients with SLE including 9 (11.8%) men and 68 (88.2%) women with mean age of 25.61 ±10.69 years and 80 healthy controls with mean age of 51.82 ±14.25 years were included. The patients’ information, including the epidemiological profile, disease history, disease symptoms and also the laboratory findings, were extracted from the hospital records. The p53 expression was determined in lyzed lymphocytes. The data were analyzed using SPSS software version 14.00 for Windows considering p < 0.05 as statistically significant. Results : The frequencies of Arg/Arg, Pro/Pro and Arg/Pro among normal controls were 38.8%, 28.8% and 37.5%, respectively, but in the patients, Arg/Arg, Pro/Pro and Arg/Pro genotypes frequencies were shown to be 29.2%, 12.3% and 58.5%, respectively. Thus, heterozygous form of this polymorphism was shown to be associated with the disease more than the homozygous alleles. There was a significant relationship between the different allele types of p53 and some clinical features of SLE. There was no association between the different allele types and any of the initial manifestations of the disease and the laboratory findings, as well. Conclusions: In an Iranian population the functional oncoprotein of p53 with codon 72 polymorphism may play an important role in the pathogenesis and clinical presentation of SLE.