Association of single nucleotide polymorphisms in TNF-α (−308G/A and −238G/A) to dengue: Case-control and meta-analysis study

•This study is a case-control study in Brazilian population and a meta-analysis.•The aim of study are the SNPs −308G/A and −238G/A in the TNF-α gene in patients with dengue patients and controls.•The genotype GG in −308G/A SNP is associated with risk for the development of dengue fever.•The GA genotype and A allele in -308G/A SNP are associated with protection.•The dominant model in -238G/A SNP presented the protective characteristic of the clinical forms of dengue. Dengue is an acute viral disease whose clinical condition is related to the interaction of factors related to the Dengue virus (DENV), environment and the host, with the immunity of the human host contributing a substantial role in the pathogenesis of DENV infection. Studies have demonstrated that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the promoter regions of cytokine genes such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) affect transcription and/or expression; and therefore, may influence the pathogenesis of infectious diseases, such as dengue. Consequently, the objective of this study was to assess through a case-control study whether there was an association between the presence of SNPs −308G/A and −238G/A in the TNF-α gene and 158 patients with dengue and 123 controls. No association was found between the SNPs and the dengue cases in the study population. We then performed a meta-analysis, retrieving data from case-control studies in the literature for the same polymorphisms. For SNP-308G/A, the GG genotype was associated with dengue fever (DF) risk (OR = 1.24, 1.00–1.53; p = 0.05; I2 = 0%), while the GA genotype (OR = 0.75, 0.60–0.93; p = 0.01; I2 = 0%) and allele A (OR = 0.75, 0.60–0.93; p = 0.01; I2 = 0%) were associated with protection. The genotype GG population in the Asian continent (OR = 1.81 [1.06, 3.09], p = 0.03, I2 = 0%) and American (OR = 1.29 [1.00, 1.65], p = 0.05, I2 = 0%) was also associated with protection in the comparison between the cases versus the control group. In each comparison, the dominant model AA + GA (p