title: Migraine and tumour necrosis factor gene polymorphism. An association study in a Sardinian sample.
abstract: To assess the possibility of an association between TNF gene polymorphisms and migraine without aura, a case-control study was performed in a Sardinian sample. Migraine without aura is a complex genetic disease in which susceptibility and environmental factors contribute towards its development. Several studies suggest that tumour necrosis factors (TNF) (TNF-alpha and lymphotoxin-alpha or TNF-ss) may be involved in the pathophysiology of migraine. The TNF-alpha and TNF-ss genes are located on chromosome 6p21.3 in the human leukocyte antigene (HLA) class III region. We evaluated 299 patients affected by migraine without aura (I.H.S. criteria 2004) and 278 migraine-free controls. The polymorphisms G308A of the TNF- alpha gene, and G252A of TNF-beta gene were determined by NcoI restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. We found a statistically significant difference in allele (p = 0.018; OR = 1.46 95 % CI: 1.066 to 2.023) and genotype (trend chi2 = 5.46, df = 1, p = 0.019) frequencies of TNF-beta gene, between cases and controls. Allele and genotype frequencies of TNF-alpha polymorphism did not differ significantly between the two groups. These data suggest that subjects with the TNFB2 allele have a low risk of developing migraine without aura and/or that the polymorphism of the TNF-beta gene is in linkage disequilibrium with other migraine responsible genes in the HLA region.
authors.affiliation: Headache Centre Franco Tocco, Section of Clinical Pharmacology, Dept. of Neurosciences BB Brodie, University of Cagliari, PO San Giovanni di Dio, Via Ospedale 46, 09124 Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Asuni
authors.forename: Maria Erminia
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Stochino
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cherchi
authors.forename: Mirko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Manchia
authors.forename: Donatella
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Congiu
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Manconi
authors.forename: Alessio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Squassina
authors.forename: Maria Paola
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Piccardi
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Del Zompo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002896:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 6 / Q000235:genetics; 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; D005838:Genotype; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D015810:Linkage Disequilibrium / Q000235:genetics; D008233:Lymphotoxin-alpha / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers; D006680:HLA Antigens; D008233:Lymphotoxin-alpha; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha