Association Between Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha Gene Polymorphism (-376) and Multiple Sclerosis in Turkish Population

The purpose of this study is the detection of the association between MS and TNF-A gene promoter -376 polymorphism.In this study, 100 MS patients and 100 healthy controls were examined. Firstly, genomic DNA was extracted from human leukocyte nuclei isolated from whole blood by standard methods and then the promoter region of TNF-A including -376 polymorphism was amplified with PCR method. Secondly, the PCR products were digested with a digestion enzyme and genotype distributions and allele frequencies were determined. A strong association between MS and TNF-A -376 genotype distribution was detected (p= 0,010). At the same time TNF-A -376 allele frequency was showed an association with MS (p=0,011), but this association indicates that GA genotype and A allele have protective effects. There is not an association between TNF-A -376 polymorphism and MS progression, but GA genotype and A allele may be the protective factors in the healthy people