ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Genetic variants of the angiotensinogen gene have been linked to both hypertension and preeclampsia. The M235T polymorphism is more common in hypertension and preeclampsia in some populations. A polymorphism in the angiotensinogen basal promoter region of AGT -217 is more common in African Americans with hypertension. The authors investigated the frequency of M235T and AGT -217 in Caucasian and African American women with and without preeclampsia. METHODS: The study was a nested case-control study of primiparous women with singleton pregnancies. Genomic DNA from preeclamptic and control subjects underwent polymerase chain reaction amplification and restriction digestion. RESULTS: The M235T and AGT -217 polymorphisms were both more common in African American women; however, the variants were not more common in preeclampsia. CONCLUSION: The frequency of angiotensinogen polymorphisms M235T and AGT -217 is different by race; however, these polymorphisms are not associated with an increased risk of preeclampsia.
Subject(s)
Angiotensinogen/genetics , Black or African American/genetics , Polymorphism, Genetic/genetics , Pre-Eclampsia/genetics , White People/genetics , Adolescent , Adult , Case-Control Studies , Cohort Studies , Female , Gene Frequency/genetics , Genetic Variation/genetics , Humans , Pre-Eclampsia/etiology , Pregnancy , Prospective Studies , Risk Factors , Young AdultABSTRACT
Leptin concentrations were measured in African American women in order to assess leptin's role in the increased frequency and severity of preeclampsia. In addition, leptin concentrations were measured in women who delivered small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants. A case-control study of African American and Caucasian women with normal pregnancies, preeclampsia, or SGA infants was done. Plasma leptin was quantitated by radio-immunoassay. The previously recognized pattern of increased leptin concentrations in preeclampsia was replicated. Leptin concentrations did not differ by race in any diagnostic category, and concentrations in women with SGA infants were not higher than those in healthy women. Differences in the frequency and severity of preeclampsia in African Americans cannot be explained by higher leptin concentrations.
