Role of the TNFA -308G > A polymorphism in the genetic susceptibility to acne vulgaris in a Sicilian population.

BACKGROUND

Acne vulgaris is a common and clinically well-characterized skin disease that affects a great proportion of the general population and thus, is a major public health problem. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether TNFA -308 G > A polymorphism might be involved in the pathogenesis of acne in a population from Sicily.

METHODS

A total of 74 patients with acne and of 88 healthy control subjects from Catania, Italy were examined in the present study. TNFA -308 G > A polymorphisms using the PCR-RFLP method were determined in DNA extracted from buccal swabs.

RESULTS

When controls were compared to acne patients, their genotype distributions, respectively G/G: 64.3%, G/A: 35.7% and G/G: 74.0%, G/A: 26.0%, were shown to be different, although not statistically significant (p = 0.191). A significant protective association between the TNFA -308 GA genotype and acne in males (p = 0.027; OR95% CI: 0.288; 0.094-0.889) was shown.

CONCLUSIONS

The present results suggest that TNFA -308 polymorphism may contribute to acne susceptibility, as suggested by the protective effect of the G/A phenotype in the males of the Sicilian cohort. Further studies in larger groups, investigating the TNFA -308G/A or other polymorphisms of this gene in acne patients may be helpful to clarify the pathogenesis of the disease.