Angiotensin II type 1 and 2 receptors gene polymorphisms in pre-eclampsia and normal pregnancy in three different populations

Objectives. To investigate a possible association between pre-eclampsia (PE) and the genotype for the angiotensin II type-1 receptor (AT1R) and the angiotensin type-2 receptor (AT2R) in various population groups. Design. The study was retrospective in a case-controlled design. Samples. Two hundred thirty-six pregnant women with PE/eclampsia (E) and 426 non-hypertensive pregnant women were included. Method. Polymorphic sites of AT1R (A1166C) and AT2R (A1675G) were amplified by polymerase chain reaction, digested with a restriction enzyme that differentiated between the alternative alleles, and analyzed. Main outcome measures. Maternal genotypes and their correlation with clinical parameters. Results. The frequency of the AT2R-GG genotype (A1675G) in the PE group was significantly greater than in controls for Afro-Caribbean women (49.3% vs 26.9%, p=0.004), but the frequency difference in Asian or Caucasian women was not significant (23.0% vs 25.4%, p=0.63; 27.7% vs 14.8%, p=0.17, respectively). The highly significant difference in Afro-Caribbean women was maintained after controlling for the effects of age, BMI and parity (p=0.005). There was no significant association of the molecular variant of AT1R (A1166C) with PE in Afro-Caribbean, Caucasian or Asian women. However, in the whole PE group compared to the controls there was a higher proportion of the AT2R-GG genotype with AT1R-AC (56% vs 44%, OR 2.37; 95% CI: 1.06-5.32). In Afro-Caribbean women, the combination of AT1R-AC with AT2R-AG genotypes was significantly higher in controls compared to PE group (93.8% vs 6.3%, OR 0.11; 95% CI: 0.01-0.81). Conclusion. There is an association between PE/E and the GG-genotype of AT2R in Afro-Caribbean women.