Lack of evidence for an association between two genetic polymorphisms in the tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 gene and multiple sclerosis in Ashkenazi Jews

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a multifactorial disease with a documented genet ic component. Recent experimental models suggested a role for the tumor nec rosis factor receptor 1 (TNFR1) in the pathogenesis of the disease. We comp ared the frequency of two polymorphisms from TNFR1, located in exon 1 and i ntron 6, in 94 Jewish Ashkenazi MS patients and 83 healthy Ashkenazi contro ls. No significant differences were observed for both polymorphisms between the patients and the controls. These findings suggest that genetic variant s in TNFR1 do not play a significant role in Ashkenazi Jews. Copyright (C) 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel.