Tumor necrosis factor-α gene polymorphisms in Korean patients with recurrent spontaneous abortion.

The objective of this study was to investigate the contribution of the tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) gene polymorphisms to recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA). The study participants consisted of 357 Korean women with RSA and 236 fertile women controls. Four TNF-α gene variants of all participants were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism assay. The TNF-α -1031T>C and TNF-α -238G>A variants increased the risk of RSA TNF-α -1031TC+CC; adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 2.292; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.547-3.395; P < .001; TNF-α -238GA+AA; AOR, 2.327; 95% CI, 1.038-5.217; P = .040), and these data were not different in a stratified analysis according to the number of consecutive spontaneous abortions. Also, the mutant genotypes of TNF-α -1031 and TNF-α -238 showed synergistic effects on increased RSA risk (-1031TC+CC/-238GA+AA; AOR, 4.054; 95% CI, 1.520-10.812; P = .005). In haplotype analysis, there were similar trends of data for combination analysis. In conclusion, the TNF-α -1031T>C and TNF-α -238G>A variants are possible genetic risk factors for RSA.