Analysis of HLA-G 5'URR regulatory polymorphisms in Slovak women with pre-eclampsia.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to identify the impact of the selected HLA-G gene polymorphisms in the 5'URR region on the risk to develop pre-eclampsia. BACKGROUND: Pre-eclampsia (PE) is a serious multisystem disorder that affects women during pregnancy. Despite many research studies, the pathology of PE is not fully understood. Human leukocyte antigen G (HLA-G) belongs to the molecules that induce immune tolerance at the fetal-maternal interface. HLA-G expression was found to be impaired in the women suffering from PE suggesting its involvement in the development of PE. METHODS: 116 women with pre-eclampsia and 130 women with normotensive pregnancy were included in the study. The 16 gene polymorphisms in the HLA-G 5'URR region (promoter) affecting HLA-G expression were typed by direct sequencing. RESULTS: The -201AA genotypes in recessive model were significantly more frequent in women with pre-eclampsia than in the controls (p = 0.047). Furthermore, the analysis of HLA-G 5'URR variants with clinical findings of PE showed a significant association of the -533delA-/+ genotype with a higher mean level of diastolic blood pressure (p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest a genetic association of selected HLA-G 5'URR variants with a risk of developing pre-eclampsia and possible contribution of HLA-G to disease pathology (Tab. 4, Ref. 51).

Analysis of HLA-G gene polymorphisms in Slovak women with pre-eclampsia.

OBJECTIVES: To identify possible association between the selected HLA-G gene polymorphisms and risk of pre-eclampsia. BACKGROUND: Pre-eclampsia is a serious multisystem disorder that affects women during pregnancy. Despite many research studies, the pathology of pre-eclampsia is not fully understood. Human leukocyte antigen G (HLA-G) belongs to the molecules that induce fetal acceptance by the maternal immune system. HLA-G expression was found to be impaired in the women suffering from pre-eclampsia suggesting its involvement in the development of pre-eclampsia. METHODS: 123 women with pre-eclampsia and 102 women with normotensive pregnancy were included in the study. HLA-G gene polymorphisms affecting its expression was determined, namely the HLA-G 14 bp insertion/deletion polymorphism in the 3'UTR and HLA-G 1597ΔC polymorphism tagging the HLA-G*01:05N null allele. Genotyping was performed by PCR and PCR-RFLP. RESULTS: No statistically significant differences in either allele or genotype frequencies between pre-eclampsia cases and control group have been observed (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Genetic predisposition of HLA-G to pre-eclampsia in Slovak women was examined for the first time. No association between analysed HLA-G gene polymorphisms and susceptibility to pre-eclampsia was observed. Further investigations are needed to determine the role of immunosuppressive molecule HLA-G in pre-eclampsia development (Tab. 5, Fig. 2, Ref. 37).