TNF-α –308 G>A and –238 G>A polymorphisms are not major risk factors in Caucasian patients with exfoliation glaucoma

PURPOSE: TNF-α has been suggested to participate in the pathogenesis of exfoliation glaucoma (XFG). The purpose of the present study was to investigate a hypothesized association between two common functional polymorphisms in the promoter region of the TNF-α gene (TNF-α –308 G>A, rs1800629, and TNF-α –238 G>A, rs361525) and the presence of XFG in a Caucasian population. METHODS: The present case-control study comprised 408 participants (204 patients with XFG and 204 control subjects). Control subjects were matched for age and sex. Genotypes of the TNF-α –308 G>A and TNF-α –238 G>A polymorphisms were determined by polymerase chain reaction (restriction fragment length polymorphism). RESULTS: No significant differences regarding genotype distribution or allelic frequencies were found between patients and control subjects (p>0.025). The presence of the TNF-α –308 G-allele was associated with an insignificant odds ratio of 0.98 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.66–1.46; p=0.99) while the presence of the TNF-α –238 G-allele was associated with an insignificant odds ratio of 0.64 (95% CI: 0.33–1.23; p=0.25). CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that both the TNF-α –308 G>A and the TNF-α –238 G>A polymorphisms are unlikely to be major risk factors for XFG in an European population of Caucasian descent.