Frequency of the UGT1A1*28 Polymorphism in a Romanian Cohort of Gilbert Syndrome Individuals.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Gilbert syndrome (GS) is characterized by unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia without liver disease or overt hemolysis and it is found in 3-10% of the general population. Inherited hyperbilirubinaemia is attributable to a reduced UGT1A1 activity. The UGT1A1 promoter (TA) repeats variants are documented of being involved in abnormally elevated bilirubin levels. The aim of the present study is to analyze the impact of UGT1A1 promoter variants on bilirubin levels in Romanian patients clinically supected with GS. METHODS: The study group included 897 subjects: 292 GS patients and 605 healthy controls. Genomic DNA was extracted from the peripheral blood leukocytes. All individuals were screened for the presence of the (TA) insertion in the TATA box region of UGT1A1 gene by PCR amplification. This case-control study was conducted at the Department of Medical Genetics, Synevo, Romania. RESULTS: UGT1A1*28 (7TA) revealed the highest frequency (61.87%) of all individuals, while the UGT1A1*1 (6TA) allele was found in 36.79%. We identified two other variants of the UGT1A1 gene, depending on the number of TA repeats in the promoter: 5TA (0.61%) and 8TA (0.72%). The (TA)7/7 homozygous genotype was identified in 32.33% of all individuals, while the (TA)6/7 heterozygous genotype was the most prevalent (57.64%). The wild type (TA)6/6 was identified in 7.36% of the whole cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Because other polymorphisms have been associated with GS, the absence of the UGT1A1*28 allele does not rule out this condition. The results suggest that in the Romanian population there is a strong correlation between the UGT1A1*28 polymorphism and hyperbilirubinemia in patients with GS.

Cell free fetal DNA testing in maternal blood of Romanian pregnant women.

BACKGROUND: The discovery of circulating fetal DNA in maternal blood led to the discovery of new strategies to perform noninvasive testing for prenatal diagnosis. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to detect fetal aneuploidy at chromosomes 13, 18, 21, X, and Y by analysis of fetal cell-free DNA from maternal blood, without endangering pregnancy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study has been performed in Bucharest at Medlife Maternal and Fetal Medicine Department between 2013-2014. In total 201 women were offered noninvasive prenatal test. Maternal plasma samples were collected from women at greater than 9 weeks of gestation after informed consent and genetics counseling. RESULTS: From 201 patients; 28 (13.93%) had screening test with high risk for trisomy 21, 116 (57.71%) had advanced maternal age, 1 (0.49%) had second trimester ultrasound markers and the remaining 56 patients (27.86%) performed the test on request. Of those patients, 189 (94.02%) had a "low risk" result (<1/10,000). Of those who had a low risk result, 2 continued on to have amniocentesis with normal results.Five patients (2.48%) received "high risk" results (>99% risk) all for trisomy 21 (T21). T21 was confirmed by amniocentesis in 1 patient and the other 4 patients declined confirmation. The 7 remaining patients (3.48%) had a low fetal fraction of DNA. CONCLUSION: It is probably that prenatal diagnosis using fetal DNA in maternal blood would play an increasingly role in the future practice of prenatal testing because of high accuracy.

Interleukin-6 and interleukin-10 gene polymorphisms and recurrent pregnancy loss in Romanian population.

BACKGROUND: Approximately 10-14% of the clinically acknowledged pregnancies end with spontaneous abortion at Caucasian population. Possible immunologic causes of recurrent miscarriages have been extensively researched. The change in the cytokines balance synthesis in favor of those synthesized by Th2 cells with an increase of interleukin 6 (IL6) and interleukin10 (IL10) secretion is considered essential for maintaining a normal pregnancy. OBJECTIVE: The study objective was to establish an association between interleukin 6 and 10 genes polymorphisms and etiology of recurrent pregnancy loss. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The genetic polymorphism of interleukin 6 and 10 genes were studied by PCR-RFLP in the DNA of 69 women with recurrent pregnancy loss and 64 control women with at least one successful pregnancy and without known pregnancy loss. Statistical analysis was performed using Fisher test and differences were considered statistically significant with a p<0.05. RESULTS: Our results demonstrated a role for -819 C/T but not for -592 C/A IL10, -1082 A/G IL10 and -174G/C IL6 polymorphisms in idiopathic recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) in Romanian population. Frequency of genotype -592 CC/-819 CC was higher in the control group than in experimental group (p=0.005). In contrast, genotype -592 AC/-819 CT was more frequent in the experimental group (p=0.05). In this study we have not detected genotype -174 C/C in IL6 gene in patients with spontaneous abortions, nor in the control group. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated a possible association between IL-10 -819 C/T promoter polymorphism and idiopathic RSA among Romanian patients.