Tumour necrosis factor a -308 promoter polymorphism in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

There are controversial reports that TNF-a promoter polymorphism may be an independent marker of susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We used Polymerase chain reaction amplification and Restriction fragment length polymorphism for analysis of the polymorphism at position -308 in promoter of TNF-alpha gene in 34 patients with RA and 30 healthy individuals. Distribution of TNF-genotypes in RA patients did not differ from that in controls. Moreover, there was apparent association between the -308 TNF-alpha polymorphism and erosions in hand x-Ray was found (P value = 0.043). We suggest that TNF-alpha -308 promoter polymorphism is not a genetic risk factor for RA susceptibility but may be associated with radiographic damage in rheumatoid patients.