Genetic contribution of the tumor necrosis factor region in Guillain-Barré syndrome.

We studied genetic polymorphisms in the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) region in 81 Japanese patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) and 85 controls. A significantly higher frequency of the 100-base pair (bp) (TNFa2) allele of the TNFa microsatellite marker, which is associated with high TNFα production, existed in Campylobacter jejuni-positive (Cj + ) GBS patients than in controls, suggesting the involvement of a genetic predisposition to high TNFα secretion in the development of C. jejuni-related GBS.