The Pain Clinic, Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 389–393 (2005)  2005 VSP Also available online - www.vsppub.com Research paper The –308 G/A polymorphism of tumor necrosis factor alpha gene is not associated with migraine HASAN HERKEN 1 , M. EMIN ERDAL 2 , MUSTAFA YILMAZ 3 , KAAN SAVASOGLU 3 and YILDIRIM A. BAYAZIT 4,∗ 1 Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Gaziantep, Gaziantep, Turkey 2 Department of Medical Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey 3 Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Gaziantep, Gaziantep, Turkey 4 Department of Otolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Gazi University, Besevler, Ankara, Turkey Background and objective: To investigate the association between 308 G/A polymorphism of TNF-α gene and migraine. Methods: Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism assay was used to determine TNF-308 G/A polymorphism in 60 migraineurs and 62 healthy controls. Results: There was no significant relationship between TNF-α–308 G/A polymorphism and gender, family history of epilepsy, family history of migraine and aura. In the control group, the frequencies of G and A alleles were 0.93 and 0.07, respectively. The corresponding values were 0.94 and 0.06 in the migraineurs. There was no significant difference between the allele frequencies and genotypes of the migraineurs and controls (p = 0.85). Conclusion: TNF-α–308 G/A polymorphism is not associated with migraine and aura. summary Key words: Tumor necrosis factor alpha; migraine, aura; 308 G/A polymorphism. Migraine is a neurovascular disorder. In the majority of migraine diseases, introduction there is a multifactorial inherited character. Although it is believed that migraine has a strong genetic component, the type and number of genes involved in this disease has not been understood entirely. Polymorphisms of different genes like catechol-O-methyltransferase gene, serotonergic genes and monoamine oxidase-A gene have been studied in migraine, and some of them were found to be associated with migraine and aura. 1–5 TNF (tumor necrosis factor) locus is within the Class III region of the human major histocompatibility complex on chromosome 6p21. 6 This locus includes two closely linked genes that encode the cytokines TNF-α and lymphotoxin alpha (LT-α) (also known as TNF-β ). There are several polymorphisms of the gene coding for TNF-α, one of which is –308 G/A polymorphism. 7 This is a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in which a guanine to adenosine transition at base pair –308 in the promotor region occurs with resultant altered TNF-α expression. 8 The TNF-α–308 G/A polymorphism has been linked to some neuropsy- chiatric disorders, like bipolar disorder, sickness behavior, schizophrenia and ∗ To whom correspondence should be addressed. Mithapasa Cad. Emek Apt. 51/12, 06640, Kızılay, Ankara, Turkey. E-mail: bayazity@yahoo.com