Type-2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) is a major risk factor for the development of coronary artery disease (CAD) and subsequent myocardial infarction (MI). Because the pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor a (TNFa) takes part in several stages of the development of atherosclerosis, we investigated the association of the TNFa gene G(–308)A polymorphism with MI in 142 DM2 patients and in 310 patients who had had DM2 for over 10 years with no clinical signs of CAD and measured the serum TNFa levels in 70 consecutive DM2 patients: 10 with MI and 60 without MI.

      We found no association between the G(–308)A polymorphism and MI in DM2 [odds ratio (OR) = 0.8, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.5-1.3, p = 0.4 for the recessive model and OR = 0.8, 95% CI = 0.2-2.8, p = 0.7 for the dominant model]. Significantly higher TNFa serum levels were found in 58 DM2 patients with the GG genotype compared to 12 with the AG genotype (1.13 ± 0.6 ng/L vs. 0.53 ± 0.35 ng/L, p <0.01). We concluded that the TNFa gene G(–308)A polymorphism is not a risk factor for MI with DM2 in Slovenes of Slavic origin.

      Key words: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2); Coronary artery disease (CAD); Myocardial infarction (MI); Tumor necrosis factor a (TNFa) gene G(–308)A polymorphism.