Journal
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Volume 204, Issue 8, Pages 1256-1263Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jir521
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Funding
- Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz)
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq)
- Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES)
- Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ)
- Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP)
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Leprosy is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) plays a key role in the host response. Some association studies have implicated the single nucleotide polymorphism TNF -308G > A in leprosy susceptibility, but these results are still controversial. We first conducted 4 association studies (2639 individuals) that showed a protective effect of the -308A allele (odds ratio [OR] = 0.77; P = .005). Next, results of a meta-analysis reinforced this association after inclusion of our new data (OR = 0.74; P = .04). Furthermore, a subgroup analysis including only Brazilian studies suggested that the association is specific to this population (OR = 0.63; P = .005). Finally, functional analyses using whole blood cultures showed that patients carrying the -308A allele produced higher TNF levels after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (6 hours) and M. leprae (3 hours) stimulation. These results reinforce the association between TNF and leprosy and suggest the -308A allele as a marker of disease resistance, especially among Brazilians.
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