title: Increased frequency of the tumor necrosis factor-alpha-308 A allele in adults with human immunodeficiency virus dementia.
abstract: Genetic polymorphisms in the regulatory regions of various cytokine genes influence the amount of cytokine produced in response to inflammatory stimuli. To determine whether such polymorphisms might play a role in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) dementia, a disease process in which tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha is believed to play a role, we analyzed HIV-infected adults with and without dementia and control populations for a polymorphic site located in the promoter region of the gene coding for TNF-alpha. The presence of the A allele at the TNF-alpha-308 site was overrepresented among adults with HIV dementia compared to those without dementia (0.28 vs 0.07; OR 5.5; 95% CI 1.8-17.0) and a healthy control population (0.28 vs 0.11). The increased frequency of the A allele in HlV-infected adults with dementia suggests that this locus may play a role in the pathophysiology of dementia and suggests a genetic predisposition for the development of HIV dementia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Tennessee, Memphis, USA. mquasney@utmem.edu
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Quasney
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sargent
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mynatt
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Glass
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McArthur
mesh_terms: D015526:AIDS Dementia Complex / Q000235:genetics*; D000328:Adult; D000483:Alleles; D005787:Gene Frequency / Q000235:genetics; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha