title: Polymorphisms in the TNFA gene promoter region show evidence of strong linkage disequilibrium with HLA and are associated with delayed neutrophil engraftment in unrelated donor hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
abstract: Sustained myeloid engraftment is an important determinant of outcome in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Human tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha is encoded by a gene, TNFA, located in the class III region of the major histocompatibility complex on chromosome 6, flanked by the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I and II regions. A number of polymorphisms in the promoter region of the TNFA gene have been associated with increased production of TNF-alphain vivo. Additionally, raised TNF-alpha levels have been reported to have a detrimental effect on the outcome in HSCT, in particular on early complications such as acute graft vs host disease, failure to engraft, and transplant-related mortality. There is evidence of linkage disequilibrium (LD) between TNFA promoter polymorphisms and extended HLA haplotypes. We have genotyped 73 cell lines and 189 donor/recipient pairs (undergoing HSCT) for their TNFA polymorphism, all of which had been well characterized with respect to their HLA genes. We found evidence of strong LD between HLA genes and TNFA; however, there was also evidence for recombination events having taken place, as we found that a number of transplant pairs who were matched for their HLA haplotypes were not matched for their TNFA alleles. We analyzed early outcomes in the transplant recipients and found a significant delay in engraftment in those pairs where both donor and recipients possessed an AG allele (associated with higher TNF-alpha levels). Our results suggest a functional effect of TNFA polymorphisms on myeloid engraftment in unrelated HSCT.
authors.affiliation: Anthony Nolan Research Institute, Royal Free Hospital, Pond Street, Hampstead, London NW3 2QG, UK.
authors.forename: B E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Maldonado
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Madrigal
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Petronzelli
authors.forename: N P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Mayor
authors.forename: M N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Potter
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Bodmer
authors.forename: S G E
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Marsh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001483:Base Sequence; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D006239:Haplotypes; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D015810:Linkage Disequilibrium; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000473:pathology*; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D006680:HLA Antigens; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha