association of tumor necrosis factor alpha 308 g/a polymorphism with asthma in pakistani population

asthma is a chronic inflammatory and remodeling disorder of the airways, in which many cells, cellular elements, and cytokines play important roles. the role of tumor necrosis factor- α (tnf-α) in asthma is unclear in pakistani population. the aim of this study was to assess the relationship between tnf-α -308 polymorphism and asthma.polymorphism of tnf-α (g-308-a locus; rs 1800629) in 329 asthmatic patients and 151 healthy  controls  was  evaluated.  dna  was  prepared  from  blood  samples  of  cases  and controls. samples were genotyped for tnf-α 308 g/a polymorphism.there was no significant difference in the frequency of gg (or 1.049 with 95% ci 0.68-1.63) and ga (or 0.987 with 95% ci 0.64-1.53) genotypes of tnf-α-308. the aa genotype was absent in cases and only one aa genotype was observed in the controls.the genetic polymorphism of tnf-α does not seem to be associated with asthma in pakistani population.