Abstract: Objective To investigate the association of TNF-α gene promoter region polymorphisms at position -238A/G and -308A/G with susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis（PTB）by a case-control study.   Methods Using polymerase chain reaction with sequence specific primer(PCR-SSP)/sequencing method, the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the promoter region of TNF-αgene at position -238 and -308 were detected in 200 pulmonary tuberculosis patients(group PTB) and 197 normal healthy individuals(group NHS) in the Han population from Shenzhen of China. The genotype frequencies and allele frequencies had been directly count out and χ² test was used to evaluate the difference of genotype frequencies distribution between two groups. Haplotypes were analyzed by SHEsis software (P=0.05).  Results There was no significant difference in genotype frequencies and allele frequencies of TNF-αgene promoter region at position  -238 (A/G) and -308(A/G) between two groups (P>0.05). There was no significant difference in haplotype frequencies between two groups (P>0.05).   Conclusion s The polymorphisms at position -238 and -308 in promoter region of TNF-αgene in Chinese Han population may not be associated with susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis.

Key words: tuberculosis,pulmonary, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, polymorphism,single nucleotide