Polymorphisms in the TNF-α, TNFR1 gene and risk of rheumatoid arthritis in Chinese Han population.

Recent advances have highlighted a major genetic contribution to the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).The aim of this study was to investigate whether polymorphisms of TNF-α (rs1800630, rs1800629) and TNFR1 (rs767455) were associated with susceptibility to and clinical outcome of RA in Chinese Han population. The target gene polymorphisms were genotyped in 256 patients with RA and 331 healthy controls using a high resolution melting (HRM) method. ESR, CRP, RF anti-CCP and anti-GPI level were also assayed and compared in genotypes of each polymorphism. Significant difference was observed in the genotype distributions and allele frequencies of TNF-α rs1800629 (P = 0.001, P < 0.001, respectively) between patients with RA and controls. There is no evidence to suggest an association between genotypes of the 3 SNPs according to age, gender, disease duration, DAS28 and serum level of autoantibodies. This study identifies a potentially important role for TNF-α rs1800629 polymorphisms in the susceptibility to RA.However, further studies in larger cohorts are required.