Associations of polymorphisms of the angiotensinogen M235 polymorphism and angiotensin-converting-enzyme intron 16 insertion/deletion polymorphism with preeclampsia in Korean women.

Objective: The contribution of genetic factors to preeclampsia has been well documented. However, there has not been any study done on the association between preeclampsia and the angiotensinogen (AGT) M235T polymorphism and angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) intron 16 insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism among Korean preeclampsia women. We performed a hospital-based case-control study on Korean women to investigate the association between preeclampsia and the angiotensinogen M235T polymorphism and also to determine the association between preeclampsia and the angiotensin-converting-enzyme intron 16 polymorphism.

Methods: DNA was extracted from whole blood of 104 preeclampsia patients and 114 healthy pregnant women. All samples were genotyped for all the polymorphisms using amplification after PCR of known allelic variants. Results were analyzed with the chi-square test, Student's t-test, and logistic regression.

Results: 18 of 50 women with preeclampsia (36.0%) in nulliparous women and 15 of 37 women with preeclampsia (40.5%) in parous women were homozygous for methionine (M235) to threonine (T235) substitution at residue 235 of AGT gene, versus 12 of 38 women in nulliparous control women and 18 of 50 women in parous control women. There was no association between the AGT M235T polymorphism and preeclampsia according to age. Fourteen of 55 women with preeclampsia (25.5%) in nulliparous women and 11 of 39 women with preeclampsia (28.2%) in parous women were homozygous for the D allele of the ACE intron 16, versus 9 of 52 women in nulliparous control women and 16 of 53 women in parous control women. No association was demonstrated between D allele of ACE intron 16 and preeclampsia according to age. There were significant differences in birth weight and delivery weeks between controls and preeclampsia patients (P < 0.001). There were no significant differences in age and nulliparity between controls and preeclampsia patients.

Conclusion: The result indicates that the AGT M235T polymorphism and the ACE intron 16 polymorphism play no significant role in preeclampsia observed in Korean women.