A variant of position −308 of the Tumour necrosis factor alpha gene promoter and the risk of coronary heart disease

Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate whether the variability between individuals with coronary heart disease (CHD) is related to the prevalence of TNF-α gene promoter −308 variant in un-matched British Caucasian population from East Midlands. Procedures Genotypes and allele frequencies were determined using restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products. Genomic DNA prepared from peripheral blood leukocytes of patients ( n  = 97) and healthy controls ( n  = 95) demonstrated two alleles TNF*1 (G) and TNF*2 (A). Findings The genotype distribution in patients was GG, n  = 59; GA, n  = 36; and AA, n  = 2 and in controls was GG, n  = 41; GA, n  = 40; and AA, n  = 14 ( P  = 0.014). The association analysis demonstrated that TNF*1 allele in patients appears to be associated with greater incidences of CHD (OR 2.15; CI, 1.36–3.39; P  = 0.001). Conclusions Our results suggest that TNF*1 allele (TNF-α −308 GG or GA) has a high prevalence among British Caucasian population that correlates with an increased CHD risk.