Lack of association between TNF-alpha polymorphisms and Alzheimer's disease in an Italian cohort.
Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that plays an important role in the inflammatory process that can be observed in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain. Different functional promoter polymorphisms within genes modulating inflammation have been demonstrated to elevate the AD risk; thus, we studied five common variations within the promoter region of the TNF-alpha gene in 609 subjects (253 AD patients and 356 controls). No positive associations were found, confirming the greater part of previous studies. Moreover, we also investigated the combined haplotypes of the five different polymorphisms without finding a positive association. Thus, the present investigation does not support the proposal that common nucleotide variations in the TNF-alpha gene can influence the development of AD at least in Italian population.
Department of Neurological and Psychiatric Sciences, University of Florence, Viale Pieraccini, 6-50139 Florence, Italy. tedde@unifi.it
Andrea
A
Tedde
Anna Laura
AL
Putignano
Benedetta
B
Nacmias
Silvia
S
Bagnoli
Elena
E
Cellini
Sandro
S
Sorbi
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000235:genetics*; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency / Q000235:genetics; D005819:Genetic Markers / Q000235:genetics; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics*; D005820:Genetic Testing; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000235:genetics; D005838:Genotype; D006239:Haplotypes / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000235:genetics*
D005819:Genetic Markers; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha