Genetic polymorphisms of the tumor necrosis factor and lymphotoxin alpha in type 2 diabetes.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the frequency of the single-base change polymorphic variants identified in tumor necrosis factor (TNF) gene (-308 G/A) and lymphotoxin alpha (LTA) (+252 G/A) in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). METHODS: A prospective study in a Mexican-mestizo population of 51 patients with T2D and 48 healthy subjects was carried out. We took a peripheral blood sample from each individual for identification of the polymorphic genotypes by polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: The genotype distribution in T2D was TNF alpha homozygous 0%; TNFG/A heterozygous 20%; TNFG homozygous 80%. CONCLUSIONS: In regards to the TNF -308 G/A genotype, we found a significant difference (p = 0.012) with a bigger frequency in the group of patients. The health controls showed a higher frequency of TNF -308 G/G genotype (p = 0.034).