tnf-alpha 308g/a polymorphism and serum level of tnf-α associated with covid-19 severity

Introduction: t-lymphocyte-derived cytokines, including tnf-α, play a critical role in regulating cellular functions, particularly the immune response to pathogenic infections. this study investigated the frequency of tnf-α gene 308 promoter alleles and measured the serum cytokine levels in both control and patient groups.methodology: the study was a case-control study that included 84 covid-19 positive patients from kerman’s afzalipur hospital, iran, and 84 healthy individuals with negative coronavirus test results as the control group. it was used bioinformatics analysis and the pcr-rflp technique to determine the tnf promoter region’s genotype and the elisa test to measure the cytokine’s serum level. statistical analysis was conducted using spss software (version-20) with a significance level of p<0.05. results: it was found that the tnf promoter region’s 308 snp genotype was associated with tfii-i transcription factor binding predictions. however, there was no significant difference in allele frequency between the control and case groups in the tnf-308 promoter (p<0.05). patients with covid-19 had higher serum levels of tnf-α compared to the control group (p<0.05). the study also revealed that elevated levels of tnf-α, ldh, esr, and crp in the serum can predict severe outcomes in covid-19.conclusion: although the study did not identify significant differences in tnf-α allele -308 frequencies between covid-19 patients and the control group, the results suggest that tnf-α alleles may impact the infection severity. as a result, measuring serum tnf-α levels and identifying tnf-α alleles in covid-19 patients could be valuable for predicting disease severity and developing targeted therapies.