An association between asthma and TNF-308G/A polymorphism: meta-analysis.

Area of Science:

• Immunogenetics
• Respiratory Medicine
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is a key inflammatory cytokine implicated in asthma pathogenesis.
• Previous research on the TNF-308G/A polymorphism and asthma has yielded conflicting results.
• The TNF gene region is considered important in asthma development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between the TNF-308G/A polymorphism and childhood atopic asthma.
• To clarify conflicting findings regarding the TNF-308G/A polymorphism and asthma risk.
• To leverage meta-analysis to increase statistical power and confirm associations.

Main Methods:

• Transmission disequilibrium tests and case-control studies were conducted on Japanese populations.
• Sample sizes included 165 Japanese trio families and 461 asthmatic children with 465 healthy controls.
• A meta-analysis combined data from 2,477 asthmatics and 3,217 controls from relevant studies.

Main Results:

• No significant association was found between the TNF-308G/A polymorphism and childhood atopic asthma in the Japanese cohorts.
• Meta-analysis revealed a statistically significant association between the TNF-308G/A polymorphism and asthma.
• The odds ratio for TNF-308A was 1.46 (95% CI, 1.27-1.68) using a fixed-effects model.

Conclusions:

• The TNF-308G/A polymorphism is significantly associated with asthma risk globally, despite negative findings in specific Japanese cohorts.
• The study reinforces the role of the TNF gene region in the pathophysiology of asthma.
• Further research may explore ethnic variations in the TNF-308G/A polymorphism's impact on asthma.