Study on the Relationships between Tumor Necrosis Factor Polymorphisms and Sepsis Susceptibility and Factor Productivity

Objective: To determine the relationship between the susceptibility of sepsis and the gene polymorphism of TNF. Methods: The single base change polymorphism in both TNF-α gene and TNF-β gene were analyzed in sepsis patients and normal controls by PCR-RFLP. TNF-α and IL-6 plasma concentrations were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: TNFB2 gene frequencies increased significantly in sepsis patients compared with those in controls(67.78%,53.33%,P 0.05). Higher TNF-α, IL-6 concentrations and mortality were found in TNFB2 homozygotes compared with those in TNFB1 homozygotes(P 0.05). No difference of allele frequencies or genotype distribution of TNF-α was noted between sepsis patients and controls(P 0.05). Conclusion: The TNFB2 allelic in the first intron of the TNF-β gene may be related to the susceptibility of sepsis and high concentrations of TNF-α and IL-6.