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).