Association between tumour necrosis-α gene polymorphisms and acne vulgaris in a Pakistani population

Abstract

Background: The cytokine tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α is a well-studied potent candidate mediator that is systemically involved in a variety of inflammatory diseases. Several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the TNF-α gene have been studied with regard the pathogenesis of acne vulgaris, but the results have been inconclusive.

Aim: This case-control study investigated the association of the TNF -308 G>A and -238 G>A SNPs with acne vulgaris in a high-risk Pakistani population.

Methods: In total, 160 healthy controls and 140 patients with acne were enrolled in this study. Polymorphisms were determined by PCR and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis.

Results: Our data showed that the TNF -308 G>A and TNF -238 G>A SNPs were present at a significantly higher rate in cases than in controls (P < 0.01 and P < 0.02; respectively). There was a significant difference between the G and A alleles from patients with acne and controls for -308 G>A (OR = 1.5, 95% CI = 1.07-2.19, P < 0.02) and -238 G>A (OR=1.6, 95% CI = 1.06-2.44, P = 0.02) genotype. Moreover, the severity of acne was significantly associated with TNF genotype (TNF -308 G>A: χ² = 34.6, P < 0.001; TNF -238 G>AL χ² = 12.9, P < 0.01).

Conclusion: Our data suggest that the TNF -308 G>A and TNF -238 G>A SNPs may contribute to the pathogenesis of acne in the study population. Furthermore, patients with severe acne showed an increased frequency of mutant TNF genotypes at -308 and -238 compared with patients with less severe acne.