A genetic association between systemic lupus erythematosus and tumor necrosis factor alpha (original) (raw)

1994, European Journal of Immunology

We have investigated the significance of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a) polymorphism in relation to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and autoantibody production.Typing of HLA-B, -DR and TNF was performed in 81 Caucasian SLE patients and 168 Caucasian controls. The presence of anti-Ro and anti-La antibodies was also determined in patients. The frequency of the TNF2 allele increased in SLE compared with controls [0.24 vs. 0.17, p = 0.04, odds ratio (OR) = 1.6],asdidHLA-DR3(0.25vs. 0 . 1 3 ,~ < 0.01, OR = 2.3)andHL,A-B8 (0.23 vs. 0.15, p = 0.02, OR = 2). Although HLA-DR3 showed the strongest disease association, we could not demonstrate association of HLA-DR3 or TNF2 with SLE independently of each other.Within SLE a much stronger association of TNF2 was seen with autoantibody production: anti-Ro antibody (0.39 vs. 0.16, p < 0.001, OR = 3.4) and anti-La antibody (0.43 vs. 0.19, p < 0.001, OR = 3.2). When analyzed independently of each other, however, HLA-DR3 remained significantly associated with autoantibodies, while TNF2 did not. These data suggest that on the B8-DR3 haplotype,TNF-a polymorphism may play a role in SLE susceptibility, but it is not primarily associated with autoantibody production.