Polymorphisms of Interleukin-6 and Tumor Necrosis Factor Gene Promoters and Cardiorespiratory Function Following Liver Transplantation: A Preliminary Study

Introduction. The interindividual variability in cardiorespiratory function during liver transplantation (OLT) has been attributed to various factors, including polymorphisms in immunity genes known to affect the circulation levels of cytokines. Aim. To evaluate polymorphisms of genes encoding for interleukin-6 (IL6) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) in association with cardiorespiratory function in OLT. Design. Prospective observational study. Patients and methods. We studied 62 consecutive patients who had OLT performed in our hospital between 2004 and 2005. Polymorphisms at positions -308 and -409 of TNF gene, as well as those at -174 and -574 of IL6 gene were determined in all patients by means of PCR-RFLPs. Associations were carried out using chi-square tests and analysis of variance. A bilateral P < .05 was accepted as significant. Results. No statistically significant associations were observed. Conclusions. A relationship between the polymorphisms studied and respiratory function in OLT was lacking. These results must be interpreted with caution due to the limited sample size.