Association of −308G/A TNF-α gene polymorphism and spontaneous preterm birth in Acehnese ethnic group, Indonesia: This polymorphism is not associated with preterm birth

BackgroundSingle nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) within tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) gene promoter (−308G/A TNFA) is associated with higher gene expression. The role of this SNP as a risk factor for spontaneous preterm birth has been assessed in some regions and the findings were significantly different between race and ethnic groups.AimTo provide the scientific evidence whether allele A within SNP −308G/A TNFA promoter is a risk factor for spontaneous preterm birth among Acehnese ethnic or not.Subjects and methodsIn this case–control study, the genotypes of SNP −308G/A TNFA among 40 patients with spontaneous preterm birth and 40 patients with term birth were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The concentrations of TNF-α from blood were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The differences in genotype distributions, dominant and recessive models, and allele frequencies between case and control groups were analyzed with Chi-squared test. Deviation of genotype frequencies from the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) was assessed by Fisher’s exact test.ResultsThis study found that the concentration of TNF-α between preterm and control groups was not statistically different, 5.5 ± 2.9 mg/dL vs. 10.1 ± 17.9 mg/dL, p = 0.112. The level of TNF-α had no strong association with either genotype distribution or allele frequency of SNP −308G/A TNFA. Furthermore, there was no association between mutant genotypes and spontaneous preterm birth (OR: 0.32; 95%CI: 0.08–1.33, p = 0.096) and between mutant allele and spontaneous preterm birth (OR: 0.35; 95%CI: 0.09–1.37, p = 0.105).ConclusionSNP −308G/A TNFA is not associated with spontaneous preterm birth in Acehnese ethnic group.