The Tumor Necrosis Factor-A -308 G/A Polymorphism and the Tumor Necrosis Factor-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand Polymorphisms, in Asthmatic Patients and Healthy Subjects

ABSTRACT

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways in which many cells and cellular elements play a role. Like other atopic diseases, asthma is a complex disorder caused by interactions between multiple genes of small to modest effect and equally important environmental factors.

The aim of this study was to determine the TNF-α -308 G/A polymorphism and the TRAIL polymorphisms, and their influence on asthma in asthmatic patients and healthy subjects.

The study population consists of 51 asthmatic patients (47 female and 4 male) and 72 healthy subjects (62 female and 10 male). The mean age of the asthmatic patients and healthy controls were 45.33±14.05, and 41.88±17.41 years, respectively. The asthmatic patients and healthy controls were similar with respect to their ages and sex characters. There was statistically a significant difference between the asthmatic patients and control groups in terms of TRAIL Arg141His, G422A (rs6557634) polymorphism (p=0.02). Statistically, there was not any significant difference between the asthmatic patients and control groups for TRAIL Thr209Arg, C626G (rs20575) TRAIL Glu228Ala, A683C (rs20576) and polymorphisms (p=0.57). Also, there was no significant difference between the asthmatic patients and control groups in terms of TNF-α-308 G/A polymorphism (p=0.90). In our study, the TRAIL Arg141His G422A (rs6557634) polymorphism was detected for the first time in asthmatic patients, which may influence the susceptibility to the asthma.

Keywords:

• asthma
• genetic polymorphism
• TNF-α
• TRAIL