The Prevalence of TNF-α (-308 G/A) SNPs and Their Risks Among Kurdish Infertile Males in Erbil Province

Background: The role that cytokines play in the reproductive function is becoming more significant. Polymorphisms in the tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) gene might be involved in male infertility. This study attempted to investigate how TNF-α gene polymorphisms affect the quality of infertile males' semen.
Methods: In the current study, the ELISA method was used to assess the serum TNF-α level in 40 fertile males and 144 patients who had been diagnosed with infertility. The genotyping of the TNF-α (-308 G/A) (rs1800629) SNPs gene was determined using the T-ARMS-PCR technique.
Results: The serum levels of TNF-α in infertile groups increased significantly compared to the fertile ones. There was no association between genotypes in infertile males in comparison with a fertile group. While Occurrence of the GA or AA genotypes in TNF-α (–308) gene increase risk of male infertility, AA genotype in normozoospermic male {probability (p)= 0.025, relative risk (RR)= 14.88}, in oligozoospermic male, GA and AA genotypes (p= 0.55, RR= 3.86) and (p= 1.00, RR= 1.61), respectively.
Conclusions: Gene polymorphisms of TNF-α (-308 G/A) have no impact on male infertility. However, the existence of the A allele in TNF-α (-308 G/A) genotypes may increase the risk of male infertility in our population.