Influence of interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor α gene polymorphisms on acute pain perception

Overview

Objective:
The aim of the study was to analyze the association between acute pain and -174 interleukin-6 (IL-6) and -308 tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) gene polymorphisms.

Material and methods:
The tonsillectomy and tourniquet tests were taken as acute pain perception models. The study population of patients was divided into groups according to pain intensity based on visual analogue scale (VAS) and according to pain tolerance. Both pain intensity and tolerance were measured immediately after the tonsillectomy and tourniquet tests, and compared with -174 IL-6 and -308 TNFα gene polymorphisms. The Spearmann correlation followed by the Mann-Whitney U test were used for statistical analysis.

Results:
We examined 284 Czech subjects (Caucasians; 178 women and 106 men). No association of single gene allelic variants (- 174 IL-6 and -308 TNFα gene polymorphisms) with pain intensity and tolerance was found.

Conclusion:
Our results indicate that - 174 IL-6 and -308 TNFα gene polymorphisms play no significant role in acute pain perception in the Czech population.

Key words:
acute pain – genetics – interleukin – IL-6 – tumor necrosis factor – TNFα – polymorphism