title: TNF-α -238, -308, -863 polymorphisms, and brucellosis infection.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Brucella abortus is an intracellular bacterium that affects humans and domestic animals. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) has been shown as a key player in the induction of cell-mediated resistance against Brucella infection. We aimed to evaluate the possible influence of the TNF-α promoter polymorphisms (-308 G/A, -238 G/A, and -863 C/A) on the susceptibility of human brucellosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 153 patients with active brucellosis and 128 healthy individuals were recruited. All subjects were genotyped for the polymorphisms in the TNF-α gene by Allele-Specific polymerase chain reaction analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our results showed that the TNF-α -308 GG genotype was significantly more frequently present in controls than in brucellosis patients (91% vs. 75%), thus was a protective factor against developing brucellosis (OR=0.313, p=0.001). In contrast, the -308 GA genotype (OR=3.026, p=0.002) and minor allele (A) (OR=3.058, p=0.001) as well as AAG haplotype (OR=4.014, p=0.001) conferred an increased risk of brucellosis. However, the -238 G/A and -863 C/A polymorphisms were not associated with the risk of brucellosis at both allelic and genotypic levels (p>0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study revealed that the TNF-α -308 A allele or GA heterozygosity or AAG haplotype were associated with an increased risk of brucellosis in our population.
authors.affiliation: Genetic of Non-Communicable Disease Research Center, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran; Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran.
authors.forename: Ebrahim
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Eskandari-Nasab
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran.
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moghadampour
authors.affiliation: Immunology Department, School of Medicine, Jiroft University of Medical Sciences, Jiroft, Kerman, Iran. Electronic address: feravadin_yasht@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Adel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sepanj-Nia
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002003:Brucella abortus / Q000276:immunology*; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000235:genetics*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
keywords: Brucellosis; Cytokine; Gene polymorphism; Infection; TNF-α