title: Tumour necrosis factor-alpha gene promoter polymorphism in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
abstract: Tumour necrosis factor(TNF)-alpha levels are elevated in airways of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and may contribute to its pathogenesis. A guanine to adenine substitution at position -308 of the TNF-alpha gene promoter (TNF1/2) has been associated with chronic bronchitis of various aetiologies in a Taiwanese population. The authors performed a study investigating association of the polymorphism with smoking-related COPD in Caucasians. Frequencies of TNF1/2 alleles in 86 Caucasians (52 males) with COPD were compared with 63 (52 males) asymptomatic smoker/exsmoker control subjects and a population control of 199 (99 males) blood donors. Genotyping was performed by the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism technique on genomic deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) obtained from peripheral blood. There were no significant differences in TNF1/2 allele frequencies between groups: 0.85/0.15 in COPD, 0.85/0.15 in smoker control subjects, 0.83/0.17 in population control subjects. Within the COPD group there was no association of TNF1/2 alleles with indices of airflow obstruction (% predicted forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and % predicted FEV1/vital capacity ratio) nor gas transfer (% predicted carbon monoxide transfer coefficient and % predicted carbon monoxide diffusing capacity of the lung). It is concluded that: 1) the tumour necrosis factor gene promoter allele does not influence the risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in a Caucasian population of smokers; and 2) there is no association of the tumour necrosis factor gene promoter genotype with severity of airflow obstruction nor degree of emphysema in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Pharmacology, Imperial College School of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Higham
authors.forename: N B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Pride
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alikhan
authors.forename: N W
authors.initials: NW
authors.lastname: Morrell
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D006801:Humans; D008173:Lung Diseases, Obstructive / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha