Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 9, 2026

A Method to Study the C924T Polymorphism of the Thromboxane A2 Receptor Gene
Published on: April 1, 2019
Association between the TNF-α-308G/A and TNF-α-238G/A polymorphisms and systemic lupus erythematosus susceptibility:
Jiayi Wang1,2, Yiwei Zhang1,2, Lanfang Wang3
1Center for Evidence-Based Medicine, Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Disease Prevention and Public Health, School of Public Health, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China.
Objective:
To perform an updated meta-analysis investigating the associations of TNF-α-308G/A and TNF-α-238G/A polymorphisms with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) susceptibility, incorporating the Bayesian false discovery probability (BFDP) and 95% prediction interval (PI) assessment to control for false-positive results.
Methods:
Case-control or cohort studies were identified through database searches up to October 16, 2025. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated under five genetic models. Heterogeneity was assessed, and the BFDP and 95% PI was applied to evaluate significant associations.
Results:
Fifty-three studies were included concerning the TNF-α-308G/A polymorphism and 18 studies were selected on the TNF-α-238G/A polymorphism with SLE susceptibility. Overall, the TNF-α-308G/A polymorphism was associated with increased SLE susceptibility in overall populations, Asians, Caucasians, Indians, and mixed populations. No significant association was found for the TNF-α-238G/A polymorphism with SLE susceptibility. However, in the further sensitivity analysis, we observed that the TNF-α-238G/A polymorphism was associated with increased SLE susceptibility in overall analysis and mixed populations. Unfortunately, the 95% PI excluded the null value for only two of these significant association. However, BFDP values of four of these significant association were more than 0.80. Therefore, all significant associations were considered as less-credible positives in this study.
Conclusion:
This study indicates that the TNF-α-308G/A and TNF-α-238G/A polymorphisms may be not associated with increased SLE susceptibility. The statistically significant association with susceptibility to SLE is most likely due to false-positive results.
Related Concept Videos
Pharmacogenetics of Drug Targets: β₂-Adrenergic Receptors, Apo E, Thymidylate Synthase
Genome-wide Association Studies-GWAS
GWAS does not require the identification of the target gene involved in...
Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms-SNPs
Pharmacogenetic Phenotypes: Alterations in Pharmacokinetics, Drug Targets and Biologic Milieu