Study of TNFα -308G/A and IL6 -174G/C polymorphisms in type 2 diabetes and obesity risk in the Tunisian population

A bstract Objectives We investigated two genetic markers in pro inflammatory molecules : TNFα -308G/A and IL6 -174G/C in order to assess their effect on type 2 diabetes (T2D) and obesity in the Tunisian population. Design and methods The study sample includes 228 patients with T2D and 300 healthy controls. Genotyping of IL6 -174G/C (rs1800795) was performed using Automated Dye Terminator Sequencing and of TNFα -308G/A (rs1800629) using the LightTyper technology. Results SNPs IL6 -174G/C and TNFα -308G/A are associated neither with T2D ( p  = 0.89, p  = 0.34 respectively) nor with risk for overweight ( p  = 0.86, p  = 0.12 respectively) in Tunisian population. Bonferroni correction showed that the founded association of IL6 -174G/C SNP with T2D susceptibility restricted to overweight patients ( p nominal  = 0.03, p corrected  = 0.0033) is likely to be a random result. Conclusion SNPs IL6 -174G/C and TNFα -308G/A are not major contributors to T2D or obesity risk in our Tunisian population.