Allelic variants of
cytokine genes seem to be involved in mechanisms of resistance or susceptibility to several diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of genotypes with the
tumor necrosis factor-alpha TNF-alpha gene polymorphism G/A at position -308 and the
IL-10 gene polymorphism G/A at position -1082, and to verify a possible association of these polymorphisms with
paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) caused by Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. Genotyping was performed by allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (ASPCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) on genomic
DNA isolated of granulocytes from 54 PCM patients and 31 noninfected individuals. The analysis of SNP at position -1082
IL-10 showed a high frequency of GA genotype in both patients and controls (51% and 55%, respectively), while the allelic frequency showed 54% of G allele in the patients and 66% of A allele in the controls. The GG genotype was more frequent in patients (85%) and controls (68%) when we analyze the SNP at position -308 of
TNF-alpha gene. Otherwise, 91% of PCM patients and 84% of noninfected individuals carried the G allele in -308
TNF-alpha SNP. Stimulation of cells from individuals with PCM phenotyped as A+ (GA or AA genotypes) presented elevation of
TNF-alpha producing cells when compared with IL-10-producer cells. These findings reinforce the critical role of
IL-10 and
TNF-alpha in the
paracoccidioidomycosis and can strongly suggest that the genetic screening of the -308G/A and -1082G/A polymorphisms may be a valid tool for identification of subjects needing a more appropriate
therapy.