Investigation of tumor necrosis factor-alpha gene polymorphisms in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by recurrent painful nodules, sinus tracts, and scar formation in areas with a high density of apocrine sweat glands. While the exact pathogenesis is not fully understood, it is believed to be triggered by a combination of genetic factors and environmental factors such as smoking and obesity, leading to hyperkeratosis and inflammation in the pilosebaceous-apocrine unit. As our understanding of the pathogenesis of HS has improved, TNF-alpha has been shown to play significant roles in the disease, and anti-TNF therapy has become part of clinical guidelines. However, it is increasingly thought that variations in TNF gene polymorphisms might be related to differences in treatment responses and disease severity over time. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between TNF gene polymorphisms and susceptibility to the disease as well as disease severity. For this purpose, 87 HS patients were compared with 89 healthy controls. The polymorphisms -376 G>A, -308 G>A, and -238 G>A in the promoter region of the TNF gene were analyzed. No statistically significant differences were found between the patient and control groups regarding the presence of these polymorphisms in any of the three regions (p = 0.243, p = 0.841, and p = 0.187, respectively). When the relationship between clinical features and polymorphisms was examined, no significant association was found between the presence of these polymorphisms and disease phenotype or severity. The results indicate that the presence of -376 G>A, -308 G>A, and -238 G>A polymorphisms does not contribute to susceptibility to HS or its severity in this population. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the relationship between HS and TNF gene polymorphisms in the Turkish population.