Tumor necrosis factor‑α ‑308 G/A genetic polymorphism in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease presenting with hyperactive airways

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. COPD is often diagnosed late in the disease leading to a delay in management. Notably, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) polymorphisms may serve an important role in the development of COPD. A single-center, case-control study was conducted to determine the presence of the TNF-α -308 G/A polymorphism among patients diagnosed with COPD presenting with hyperactive airways, patients without COPD presenting with hyperactive airways, and normal study participants without pulmonary comorbidities. Three genotypes: G/G (94%; 157/167), G/A (5%; 9/167) and A/A (1%; 1/167) were detected by quantitative PCR. The present study showed that the presence of the TNF-α -308 G/A polymorphism reduced the odds of having hyperactive airways with COPD by 29.3% and hyperactive airways without COPD by 26.3%. Multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that having the TNF-α -308 G/A polymorphism did not significantly reduce the odds of having hyperactive airways with COPD and without COPD compared to those with the G/G genotype. In conclusion, the presence of the TNF-α -308 G/A gene polymorphism showed no significant association with patients with COPD with or without hyperactive airways. The presence of the TNF-α -308 G/A polymorphism instead had a weak association with the reduction in the development of COPD regardless of the presence or absence of airway hyperactivity.