ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To compare insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) gene imprinting in twin placentas with singleton ones and to determine whether imprinting was influenced by assisted reproductive technology, zygosity and fetal sex.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>One hundred and sixty cases of twin placentas and 42 cases of singleton ones were recruited. Allele-specific IGF-II expression was determined by reverse transcription-PCR combined with analysis of an Apa I-sensitive restriction fragment length polymorphism.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Although the incidence of IGF-II imprinting loss was higher in normal twin placentas than in singleton ones (20.6% vs 8.7%), there was no statistical significance. There were no significant differences between twins conceived by assisted reproductive technology and those conceived spontaneously (17.9% vs 24.4%), and between dizygotic and monozygotic twins (22.4% vs 16.7%). The incidence of IGF-II imprinting loss in placenta of female twins was statistically higher than that of male ones (26.4% vs 9.8%).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The risk of IGF-II gene imprinting loss is higher in female twins and has no relationship with assisted reproductive technology and zygosity.</p>