The Role of TNF-Alpha in ALS: New Hypotheses for Future Therapeutic Approaches

Association of the tumor necrosis factor-alpha -308G>A polymorphism with breast cancer in Mexican women

“…In the Mexican population, studies have reported a frequency of 0-8% of the mutant allele (Parra et al, 2006;Sánchez et al, 2008). Although this polymor-phism has been associated with diseases such as rheumatism (Cereda et al, 2012), cardiovascular disease (Chu et al, 2012), diabetes , and cancer (Yang et al, 2011), the results have been inconsistent. The aim of this study was to determine the association between the -308G>A polymorphism in the TNF-α gene and BC in Mexican women.…”

“…The soluble molecule can bind to its receptors, TNFR1 and TNFR2. TNF-α has a receptor on tumor cells that stimulates activation and prolonged expression of the JUN oncogene; participates in apoptosis; stimulates the hydrolysis of sphingomyelin, ceramide, and phosphorylcholine; and induces the production of reactive oxygen species (Cereda et al, 2012). In vitro and in vivo experiments have shown the tumorigenic effects of TNF-α, and it has been associated with elevated plasma levels of TNF-α in cancer patients with a poor prognosis (Champ et al, 2012).…”

“…TNF-α is a key molecule during angiogenesis, promoting it directly by stimulating endothelial cell proliferation and indirectly by enhancing the expression of pro-angiogenic factors (Cereda et al, 2012). Furthermore, TNF-α induces the expression of adhesion molecules, facilitating the invasion of metastatic tumor cells (Champ et al, 2012).…”

“…The TNF-α-308G>A polymorphism is located in the promoter region of the gene and involves the substitution of a guanine (G) by an adenine (A). This change effects gene expression, increasing production of TNF-α (Cereda et al, 2012) and has been extensively associated with complex diseases, including BC (Azmy et al, 2004;Fang et al, 2010;Shen et al, 2011).…”

“…TNF-α has a length of 3 kilobases and contains 4 exons that code for more than 80% of the secreted protein (Cereda et al, 2012). Several polymorphisms and mutations have been described for this gene.…”