Association between polymorphisms in IL-27 gene and pre-eclampsia

Pre-eclampsia is a complex pregnancy-specific hypertensive syndrome, and it is a leading cause of maternal and neonatal death worldwide. We aimed to evaluate the associations between polymorphisms of IL-27 gene and pre-eclampsia susceptibility in Han Chinese women. Methods: 663 pregnant women were enrolled in a case-control study (212 cases and 451 normal pregnancies). The rs153109 and rs17855750 variants were discriminated using Polymerase Chain Reaction - Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) methods. Results: A significantly reduced risk of pre-eclampsia was observed in the rs153109 GG genotype compared with the AA or AA/AG genotypes (GG versus AA: OR = 0.51, 95%CI = 0.30-0.86; GG versus AA/AG: OR = 0.60, 95%CI = 0.37-0.98). Significantly reduced pre-eclampsia susceptibility was also associated with the AG/GG genotypes of rs153109 (OR = 0.68, 95%CI = 0.49-0.94) in dominant model. After stratification analysis, the different distribution of AG/GG genotypes was particular significant in the severe pre-eclampsia subgroup (OR = 0.65, 95%CI = 0.45-0.92) and the early-onset severe pre-eclampsia subgroup (OR = 0.51, 95%CI = 0.30-0.87). Additionally, significantly increased mild pre-eclampsia risk was observed associated with rs17855750 GT/GG and GT genotypes when compared with TT and TT/GG genotypes (GT/GG versus TT: OR = 227, 95%CI = 1.12-4.55; GT versus TT/GG: OR = 2.56, 95%CI = 128-526). Conclusion: It is biologically plausible that SNPs in IL-27 may have effect on individual susceptibility to pre-eclampsia. The results suggest the presence IL-27 rs153109, rs17855750 variants may be able to be used as markers for the genetic susceptibility to pre-eclampsia. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.