Genetic contribution of the tumor necrosis factor region in guillain‐barré syndrome

Abstract
We studied genetic polymorphisms in the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) region in 81 Japanese patients with Guillain‐Barré 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.